Auburn Legend
by Doctor Meowzie
Summary: [Sakuno adventure fic] Chapter four: Rikkai Dai regulars Niou, Marui and Kirihara are bored. Yes, bored enough to even hold a grand faceoff for Sakuno's braids.
1. Seigaku: A Date and Some Stalkers

05.15.07

**A/N:** Y'know, I really enjoy reading fics that make Sakuno interact with students and regulars from other schools, so I decided to write one too. This is a multi-chapter fic that imparts Sakuno's not too peaceful life as, well, Ryuzaki Sakuno. First off, Seigaku regulars! Then I will do one for Hyotei, and Rikkaidai, St. Rudolph –continues rambling to no one-… OHOHOHO!!!

**DISCLAIMER: **Takeshi Konomi owns the manga and its characters. I, however, merely own this fic.

**ALTERNATE ****SUMMARY:** With a series of strange and unexpected events happening one after another, Sakuno discovers her life in middle school was never meant to be as calm as still waters, especially when she makes friends with more bishies! And what about Ryoma? (Multi Sakuno pairings, both platonic and romantic)

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**Auburn Legend  
**© Doctor Meowzie

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****ONE  
**Seigaku: A Date and Some Stalking Senpai-tachi  
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The day was Friday, when the regulars of the Seishun Gakuen boys' tennis club were to practice for two hours after dismissal at school. As expected from a team of middle school boys who just so happen to get to the Nationals as the best in the region, they held practice matches among themselves. Of course, those they call practice matches won't seem like _just_ practice matches to any passerby who never knew of the team's reputation, or at least how they played tennis.

POK!

"Nya, Fuji! You're going easy on us aren't ya?"

Kikumaru Eiji whined in the middle of a doubles match between Oishi-Kikumaru pair and Kawamura-Fuji pair. Oishi came up to Eiji and put a hand on his partner's shoulder, giving him a look that Eiji immediately understood as "We'll just have to play seriously to get them to be serious too, right?"

"Yosh! Let's do it, Oishi!"

While the doubles match began to heat up, a figure at the other court sprang to the air a good eight feet above the ground and slammed his racket against the ball that bounced on the ground with a loud, forceful 'THUD!'

Momoshiro's feet easily met the ground as he raised his index finger and grinned, "Don!"

His opponent looked at the crease the ball had left on the ground before saying, "Hmm… that was a nice one, Momo-senpai."

Momoshiro grinned at Echizen once again and said, "Of course it is, Echizen! Of course it is –"

WHAM!

A stray tennis ball hit him at the back of his head, cutting off whatever cool thing he attempted to say to come out of his mouth. Highly irritated, he whipped around and furiously pointed his racket to the suspect who he knew too well from all the strangely similar instances that occurred in the past.

"Oi! Watch where your Boomerang Snake is landing, Mamushi!"

The person he addressed his yammering merely stood his side of the other court and retorted, "Like I make the smallest effort to hit _you_, porcupine head."

"Why you –"

"Momo-senpai, it's almost time to go."

The rascal of Seigaku tennis club "Che"-ed towards Kaidoh's direction before turning back to his freshman kouhai.

"Oh well. Let's grab a bite at the burger joint afterwards, shall we?"

Ryoma nodded towards him as they assembled with the other club members gathered near the entrance of the courts to be dismissed by their captain.

* * *

Fuji inwardly shook his head. 

For his project to be a success, he needs more material than just trees or flowers in the portrait. Hmm…

"Hey, Fuji-senpai! Would you like to join us at the burger joint afterwards?" Momoshiro called out to the currently deep-in-thought tensai.

Eiji popped out somewhere behind Momoshiro. "Come on, Fujiko-chan! I don't want to be the only one paying for his kohai's meals as a senpai!"

He merely smiled his usual and replied, "Iie, gomen. I have… more important things to do."

As the senior acrobat pouted at the misfortune that has been brought down on him, Momo and Echizen dragged him out of the club room with evil grins on their faces.

* * *

He was still deep in thought while walking around the campus courts, silently taking in his surroundings to see which among them best fit the theme chosen for his photography project. Aside from the school tennis club, Fuji was also affiliated with the neighborhood photography studio and also took part in a project the members came up with, choosing the spring season as a theme for their photo album compilation (it was spring after all, hence the theme). Then they were to display them or whatever productive activity the studio manager had planned out of the project. 

It would be nice to include sakura trees, and maybe a panoramic view of the city during the season… or even include snapshots of the spring festival…

Just as he turned a corner did he spot someone sitting on the bench near the gym entrance.

That someone also happened to spot him at the same time.

"Fuji-senpai?"

As he thought of more ideas for his project, he smiled.

* * *

'_Hm… I wonder if Tomo-chan's having trouble with her brothers again…'_

The freshman granddaughter of the tennis team coach had been waiting for her grandmother to finish her work so they could go home together. It was Friday after all, and she could just do her homework during the weekend. She sat peacefully on a bench with her bag sitting beside her when she heard footsteps approaching.

Just then Fuji Syusuke appeared and saw her as well.

"Fuji-senpai?"

Sakuno blinked when her senpai stared at her through those perpetually closed eyes of his, and blinked again when he smiled.

"Hello, Ryuzaki-chan. Waiting for Sumire-chan?"

"Ah…" – she briefly wondered how her obaa-san will react once she hears _that_ name – "hai!" She continued to watch as her gentle senpai sat down beside her. "Anou… I thought all the senpai-tachi already went home, Fuji-senpai…"

"Hai, I'm on my way home. Just looking around for something…" He looked contemplative for a moment before he continued, now with a brighter smile on his face. "Say Ryuzaki-chan, are you busy tomorrow?"

"Hm?" She tilted her head to the side. "Ah… I think obaa-san wants me to help out here tomorrow morning. Why?"

"We have practice tomorrow morning, so I guess you'll be free in the afternoon?" Fuji inquired, and Sakuno nodded timidly.

"Well then… I have a favor to ask you."

* * *

Near the noon of the next day, after the Saturday practice has ended, Ryoma, sipping from his can of grape Ponta, was about to walk home with Momo-senpai when something unexpectedly piqued his interest. 

He watched as a few distance away, Fuji-senpai was talking to Ryuzaki Sakuno and, after a brief conversation, the two walked together.

He barely freaked out when an arm slowly wrapped around his neck and the owner of it brought his weight down along with him. Like him, Eiji also seemed to be surprised by what he just saw. "Nyah, was that Fuji? With Ryuzaki-chan?"

Ryoma grit his teeth when another arm slung around his neck and spoke up, "Yeah, and I _swear_ I saw her blushing, Eiji-senpai. I swear I do. Right, Echizen?"

The freshman regular glared full blast at Momoshiro, who seemed annoyingly unaffected. Damn.

"Hoi hoi! And I thought Ochibi here was Ryuzaki-chan's favorite… Oh well! Too bad! Now you all know what this means!"

Momo raised his fist in the air. "HELLYEAH! STALKING TIME!"

Kawamura, along with Kaidoh, walked to them from behind and asked, "Hey guys, what's all the fuss about?"

"Fssh… What idiot would find stalking such a wonderful job, I wonder…"

"HUH? You said something, Mamushi?"

"Like what, spikehead?"

"GRR WHY I OUGHT TO –"

"Oi! Kaidoh, Momo! Stop that, nyah! Anyway…" Eiji turned to Kawamura and held up an index finger for emphasis. "Taka-san, did you see that? Fujiko-chan was walking with Ryuzaki-chan!"

"Eh? Fuji was?"

"Uh-huh! And who knows what Fuji was planning, _going out_ with our cute little Ryuzaki-chan, what with his scary nature and all --"

Ryoma partly spat out the amount of soda he drank. "_Going out?_"

Eiji crossed his arms thoughtfully (Ryoma thanked whoever was watching from above that his senpai finally got off him) and continued, "Yeah Taka-san – and I think Ochibi here repeated '_going out_' like a jealous boyfriend – but anyway, we're going to stalk them like we normally do!"

Ryoma glared real hard. Unfortunately for him, Eiji seemed unaffected as well. Damn, where the HELL did all his golden glaring powers go?!

Taka-san scratched the back of his head and chuckled, "Stalking again? But surely nothing bad will happen. This _is_ Fuji we're talking about, after all –"

"Ii data."

"AAAHH! INUI!!!"

"Hmm… at least now I am able to point out a whole page of proven data on Fuji, 67 of which are deemed true… Splendid." Now the horrible, spine-shaking gleam and 'TING!' reflected on his glasses looked like a short yet unbearable horror movie to the other regulars. Inui wrote across the page in a ridiculously swift manner and, as Eiji tried to take a peek on what he was writing, abruptly closed the notebook. ("Almost, nyah!" ejaculated the hyperactive acrobat, earning him a pat on the back from Momo as he said "Maybe next time, senpai.")

"Now, everybody stalk."

"But Inui," Kawamura hesitated for a moment, not noticing the racket that dropped to his hands out of nowhere, "I really think we shouldn't – LOVELYYYYYYYYYY!!! COME ON EVERYBODY, STALKING IS GOOD FOR YOUR HEALTH! BUUUUUUUUUUURNING!!!"

When Kaidoh thought that turning on his heel and making a 500 km/h dash for his life was pretty safe, Inui just HAD to shove a mug containing some eerily alien green mixture of bubbling slime under his nose.

* * *

His ears did not fail him. He knew they were stalking. 

They were sitting across each other at an open coffee shop and he was positive he heard a 'Fssh', a 'Shh', and a 'Mada mada dane' somewhere behind Sakuno. The tiniest hint of something close to a sadistic smile made its way to his calm face. Ah, the torture days have come once again. Too bad, fellas. You're going to suffer.

"Eh?" The girl who sat in front of him, munching on her pretzels, looked around with her eyebrows creased. Somewhat wary of the idea of her senpai-tachi possibly stalking them, she glanced nervously at her companion. "Anou… Fuji-senpai? I think I heard Kawamura-senpai…"

"Oh?" Amused, the tennis prodigy smiled at his little kohai and shook his head. "I didn't quite hear him… I only heard a 'Fssh'."

Sakuno's mouth formed an 'O' and smiled at her senpai. If the rest of the senpai-tachi didn't bother Fuji Syusuke, then she might as well try her best not to be disturbed by them as well. She fidgeted a little as she tried to start a conversation, hoping her voice wouldn't stutter horribly.

"U-Um… Senpai?"

"Hm?" Fuji smiled at her warmly, urging her to continue. She blushed. Oh, she was SO cute!

"I-I hope you… don't mind me asking you… but why did you choose me to help for your photo shoot…?"

The senior set his cup of coffee down on the table and directed his gaze ahead, past Sakuno, right at the cliché bushes that loyally served as their hiding place ever since the stalking season, initially suggested of Momo and seconded by Eiji, began. Damn, every time the regulars decide to spend their time stalking (or as Inui would call it, 'reconnoitering'), there would always, ALWAYS be a bush to hide their butts in and save the day.

Fuji averted his gaze to Sakuno and leaned closer. That definitely earned him an innocent blush from his kohai, who was beet red to the tip of her twin braids. He playfully smiled and said, "Aw, Ryuzaki-chan. You're just too adorable."

* * *

Ryoma's temple vein twitched. Hmm… was there even a visible vein there before? Oh well… it's just that, he actually noticed his vein twitching. As if he was irritated like mad. Duh, how could he NOT be irritated? Fuji-senpai, 3rd year, Seigaku regular, tennis prodigy, developer of the Triple Counters, and most of all notoriously dubbed as The Sadist was deliberately railing his temper. Wait, scratch that. He was NOT angry. Just irritated. Fuji-senpai was obviously flirting with her, with Ryuzaki! Ryuzaki of all people! Of all cute girls in the world, why oh WHY did Ryuzaki go on a date with him? 

Wait. Pause – rewind that.

Fuji-senpai was obviously flirting with her, with Ryuzaki! Ryuzaki of all people! Of all cute girls in the world, why oh WHY did Ryuzaki go on a date with him?

STOP.

Now why did that pop out of his noodle?

He inwardly 'GRRR'-ed in fury. Fuji-senpai really was a sadist. Now if he can only jump out from the bushes and scream murder at that angelic face…

"Ochibi nya, you look troubled," Eiji glanced at the freshman regular with a tilt of his head, "Ah, but of course! How could I forget? A third party is getting in the way of young love!"

YOUNG LOVE HIS ASS!

And why on earth was this 'Nya Nya'-ing earthling blabbering about that crap now?

"Fear not, Echizen," Momo placed his hands on Ryoma's shoulders, attempting to look like a sagely old man who was passing his wisdom unto the generation that will take over the future. "You need not hide that trembling jealousy of yours, for I, we, your senpai-tachi, are here to cheer you on!"

Ryoma's golden eyes widened. He? Hide? Trembling jealousy?! Now what the HELL—

"Sou, sou, Ochibi! We are all RyoSaku shippers here, you know! We're practically lending you the full extent of our support!"

"Eiji-senpai, what on EARTH are you talking about?" Ryoma had to cover his ears

"Don't complain, Echizen. Don't complain," Momoshiro held him in a playful headlock. "We are all full-fledged RyoSaku fans—"

Kawamura, in all his burning glory with a racket in hand, waved it wildly around, causing the bushes to shake loudly. He then pointed it towards Eiji and Momo before proclaiming, "THAT 'ALL' DOESN'T INCLUDE ME, BABY! IMMA PUREBLOOD FUJISAKU FAN!"

The two RyoSaku dudes stared at him. They stared for a little more, then looked at each other with similar unreadable looks on their faces.

"Hey Momo, do you think they _even _have a fanbase?"

The dunk master shook his head. "Impossible, Eiji-senpai, definitely impossible."

Two heads nodded solemnly.

"I feel the need to say, Taka-san, that your opinion is the same as mine."

"AAAHH! INUI!!!"

Eiji once again screamed due to Inui's sudden butting in on other people's conversation. Honestly, that data man with inhumane handwriting speed is NOT human. He can actually beat all the most updated gossip mongers (more than half of which are girls definitely) with his insanely overqualified reconnoitering-slash-stalking skills that includes a brain as sharp as (or even sharper) than Einstein's, ears that might truly be described as overly sensitive, muscled legs that can send him flying to almost any place where he hears tennis-player-related issues, and most of all, his juice-making abilities that serves as his most terrifying weapon as of yet. Kami-sama, why did someone like Sadaharu Inui ever exist and live to torment him of all people?

"So you mean, Inui senpai…" Momo slowly raised a shaking finger at the data man.

CHING!

Oh no, it's that horrible sunlight-reflects-eye glasses effect again. Isn't THAT so cliché…

Inui adjusted his glasses and smiled pleasantly. "Yes, I am a FujiSaku fan."

"So…"

Four men literally burned amidst their auras.

"…this means war."

Ryoma looked at them as if they were those aura-emitting entities in DBZ who happen to land to the Tenipuri world. 'Sayan', were they? He sighed. Yes, this was Seigaku. Seishun Gakuen, whose regulars' team had to go through dramatically tough times, like members turning up horribly late for helping a pregnant woman/drowning cat _coincidentally_ right before the start of official matches (which happen too many times), members being overran and stalked by rabid drooling fangirls, a _certain_ member experiencing some sort of amnesia on an unexpected day, members _suffering_ from several doses of several odd juices, and some other instances he couldn't really remember.

Now where _was_ he? Ah yes… he was supposed to concentrate on Fuji-senpai. Fuji-senpai made him angry – er, annoyed him – so Fuji-senpai shall pay. He was doing some taunting in front of his very own eyes, that sadistic –

Wait a minute… why was he angry/annoyed, you ask?

The young Echizen blinked.

He really didn't know.

All he knew was that he wanted Sakuno to get away from where she was as soon as possible.

He pulled the edge of his cap lower and muttered, "This really is troublesome, neh, Kaidoh-senpai?"

Good ol' Kaidoh had been quietly 'Fssh'-ing the whole time. He too thought all their fanboying (he knew there was a word 'fangirling', but well, they _are_ boys) crap as troublesome plus embarrassing. He'll bet anything they were the first ever fanboys to exist in the Tenipuri fandom. Wait, to exist in the _what?_

He crossed his arms and replied, "Yeah."

Ryoma suddenly looked up when he saw Eiji jump out of the bushes, out into the open.

"Oh crap, the targets escaped!"

* * *

They arrived at the studio around half past two in the afternoon. 

"Welcome to Sayonji Studios and Photographers' Guild, Ryuzaki-chan."

Sakuno looked at the sign of the name of the studio before following her senpai inside.

A woman who looked like in her mid-twenties and was sitting behind a desk full of folders and albums looked at the newly arrived students and greeted them with an ear-to-ear grin.

"Good afternoon, Fuji-san. I see you brought someone over –" smiling, she glanced at Sakuno, and what was supposed to be a brief, welcoming gaze became a long one as the woman's eye's widened, "—Oh my GOSH! You must be Fuji-san's girlfriend! You are SOOOOOO adorable!!!" She tried reaching out to pinch the blushing Ryuzaki's cheeks but failed to do so when Fuji stopped her with a wave of his hand.

"Don't get too hyped up, Kihoshi-san. I brought her along because she's helping me with my own share of the project."

The woman grinned brightly. "Oh really? You really are a tensai, neh, Fuji-san? You chose a really cute girlfriend too! Well, have a good time and enjoy!"

Sakuno was about to correct the woman's Sakuno-is-Fuji's-girlfriend notion when she noticed Fuji's hand on her shoulder. She glanced at him as he whispered, "Give it up, Ryuzaki-chan. That woman's really hyper when it comes to these things, she might probably not listen to any corrections we'll tell her. Come on now."

Soon they entered a room (unsurprisingly full of lights, custom backgrounds, mirrors and cameras) where they placed their bags. Sakuno watched as Fuji pulled out a large paper bag and handed it to her. Judging from the softness of the bulk, it must be what she was supposed to wear for the pictorial. _'Pictorial? Is this for real?' _she thought as she looked at the bundle in her arms.

"You'll wear that kimono, Ryuzaki-chan. I think it'll look good on you."

"Anou… i-is it okay for me to…?"

"Hai," he patted her head affectionately. "Don't worry. My older sister let us borrow it. She only said she wants to see the pictures once they're developed as her condition."

"Ah…"

Fuji smiled at her. "Well then. I'll leave you here to change. Meet me at the backyard; it's only there behind that door." He pointed at a white door at the far end of the hallway.

"Okay," she smiled back.

Her senpai closed the door and she looked at the paper bag. Fuji-senpai said it was his older sister's kimono. Though she didn't know how his sister's face looks like, Sakuno was quite sure that she was beautiful. The trait might've run in the family. She pulled out the kimono and slightly gasped.

It was so simple, yet _beautiful_.

* * *

"Great, now where _are_ those two?!" 

"Well, it's not _our_ fault we lost the target, nyah, Momo?"

"There is an eighty-seven point six probability that Fuji made sure we were distracted before doing the great escape."

"MOERUZE! IT'S NOT LIKE WE CAN'T FIND THEM! BUUUUUUUUUURNING!!!"

"Yeah, let's go! Let us stop Fujiko-chan's interruption of the RyoSakuzation of events once and for all nyah!"

"Fsssh…"

"That's really annoying Mamushi! And what side are _you_ on anyway?"

"Why the hell are you matchmaking _Ryuzaki-sensei's_ granddaughter?"

"Who cares! Echizen will perpetually owe us one day on this one, neh Echizen?"

"…"

"ECHIZEN! SAY SOMETHING!"

* * *

Perfect. 

He wore a satisfied smile on his face as he gazed at the camera he was holding. It was a good thing he joined the Photographers' Guild. And to think there was an area full of cherry blossom trees and greenery here… absolutely convenient.

Even though the backyard of the studio was a public place, not many people visited the area, which was a good thing. He needed to take wonderful photos and place them in his and the club's collection, all of which featuring his cute little kohai dressed in a pretty kimono. Aw, he really was excited.

"Fuji!"

Glancing over his shoulder, he was surprised to see two of the other Seigaku regulars coming towards him. So he wasn't the only one who knew of the place…

"Oishi. Tezuka." He nodded in greeting. "What brings you here?"

"We were just walking around," answered Oishi. He noticed the camera that Fuji was carrying. "Ah, so you'll be taking shots now?"

"Hai. I'm doing a major project at the studio," Fuji tipped his head to the building in front of them, "you two can be our spectators, if you want."

"Sou ka," Oishi said appreciatively, "How about it, Tezuka?"

The tennis club captain nodded his head, his face as stoic as usual. "It's fine. I don't mind."

"Well then, let's wait a little more…"

Oishi raised both his eyebrows and inquired, "Who're we waiting for?"

…

"Anou…"

The door to the inside of the building opened and revealed a pretty Sakuno clad in a pale pink kimono, the hem of which were a darker shade until the color faded into a lighter one towards the upper portion, and bore miniscule floral prints. The red obi was wrapped neatly around her small figure. The kimono was the only noticeable change in her appearance, since she still maintained her two braids and hair clip.

The thing is… SHE'S SO CUTE!

"You look beautiful, Ryuzaki-chan." Fuji complimented her with a smile. She blushed at this, muttered an embarrassed 'Thank you' and glanced at the other two senapi-tachi.

"Tezuka-senpai? Oishi-senpai?" She blinked at the tall senpai-tachi, not remembering them to be involved with the work.

Fuji smiled at her. "They just happened to pass by, Ryuzaki-chan, and I invited them to watch… if you don't mind."

"Iie, it's… it's okay, senpai." Though deep down, she was incredibly nervous.

"Let's get to work, shall we?"

* * *

Being the gentleman he is, Fuji walked her home after the pictorial ended. Back then, he knew Sakuno had been nervous with Tezuka and Oishi around, although she did a pretty good job in front of the camera. After all, he had just felt sharing the satisfaction of seeing what fleeting view was to be preserved in a photograph to Oishi and Tezuka. 

"Anou, Fuji-senpai. We're already here. Thank you for walking me home." She stood in front of their gates and bowed deeply to him.

He patted her head, smiling warmly at her. "Iie, thank _you_, Ryuzaki-chan. You really were a big help for this. Oh, and would you mind calling me 'Syusuke' from now on?"

"Eh?" Sakuno blushed lightly and stared at her senpai with wide eyes. "Th-then… well, sure, Syu-Syusuke-senpai." Then she suddenly smiled happily at him. "And Syusuke-senpai can call me 'Sakuno' too! Because… anou…"

"Because?"

"Uh… because I consider Syusuke-senpai my friend!" She looked at him with a determined face.

Fuji momentarily opened his eyes to reveal surprised blue eyes. Then he smiled again, finding the face she was making cute. _'Sakuno, Sakuno, you're so much like a child.'_

"I'm glad that Sakuno-chan thinks I'm her friend." Sakuno looked at him like a child who first saw Santa Claus. Fuji was looking at her with open eyes, indicating he was serious though his voice was soft. "I too consider Sakuno-chan my friend. So do the rest of the regulars in my opinion."

Those words were all it took to make the smile on her face brighten even more. She had always idolized the boys' tennis club regulars, and here was Syusuke-senpai telling her that the others also thought of her as a friend. Fuji patted her on the head once more and told her to go to her grandmother already. Bowing to her friend, Sakuno bade him a 'Good bye!' and went inside their residence.

Fuji chuckled and turned to walk towards the direction of his home, happily saying to no one in particular, "Sakuno-chan is really adorable."

TBC

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**A/N:** You know, Sakuno-chan can look good in a photograph even without make-up. Wonder how the photographs look like? WELL, you'll have to wait and see! Next up: **St. Rudolph** regulars' turn to cross paths with our dear little Sakuno! This first chappie maybe quite peaceful, but don't even think that the Seigaku regulars were the only ones who knew of and witnessed Fuji and Sakuno's little date! (hint hint) Haha! Thanks for reading! Please review and don't flame! 

-Meowzie  
05.16.07


	2. St Rudolph: He Who Can't Stop Gossiping

05.17.07

**A/N:** Here it is! Chapter two! A big thanks to those who faved this story, those who put it on story alerts, those who added it to C2 Communities, and above all to those who reviewed! Thank you all SO MUCH for the wonderful/amazing/fantastic/inspiring/colorful/awesome reviews: **Mou'Ikka, ButterflyPeaches86, thekillerdynamo, liltle, Hinamori5, DarkMagic10, Yumetsukihime, White Alchemist Taya, My sanity, sesshomaruobsessed, feiry, aSyLLe-cLaiRe, nekosaru, Torogi, anangelwithnoname, astig3422, Macve, crystal starlight**!

To **crystal starlight**: Here it is! Now PM me the link! Hehe… ♥

To **thekillerdynamo**: Yup, you got that right. Mizuki's won't let things go on placidly. Oh yah.

**DISCLAIMER: **Takeshi Konomi owns the manga and its characters (Oh, and Kihoshi-san is my OC).

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**Auburn Legend  
**© Doctor Meowzie

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**-  
TWO**

St. Rudolph: He Who Couldn't Leave Gossip Alone  
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That day brought some unexpected surprise. A surprise it was, and he knew he can't leave it alone, because despite the fact that he was a student from another school and was practically someone who lives in another academic world, he was still a tennis player, concerned of any and all issues involving tennis players from the past until present, regardless of what school, and a man who dutifully gathers data that he so faithfully believes in to aid him in times of entertainment or of urgent need.

They may be sensible reasons to him and crappy reasons to others, but above all of them, he simply had to not let the case go that easily because it concerns _his rival_. He felt he needed to at least showcase some sort of dramatic reaction in a form of shock or surprise when he caught, spotted, found, witnessed or to put it simply, _saw_ his one and only rival sitting at an open café _with a girl._

Yes. He saw Fuji Syusuke sitting at a café with a girl. And upon seeing the scene that had met his eyes as he passed by the same alley, he deemed what absolutely any human mind, his included, could only interpret it as: _a date_. Not only a one-word 'date', but to clarify the interpretation more properly, it was _'a date between boyfriend and girlfriend.' _As in only two people together, boy asking girl out, the couple holding hands and maybe do some snogging at a corner—

He halted in his tracks, standing right in front of the door to their dormitory. Frowning, he twirled a lock of his dark hair between his fingers and thought deeply on the matter. What he had come up as his definition of a 'date' and even the extensive meanings to it got him thinking that putting all the aforementioned thoughts and His Rival together… means His Rival becoming OOC.

That's right… Fuji Syusuke going on a date with some dark hidden agenda beneath his unreadable face was impossible, the manager of St. Rudolph Tennis Club thought otherwise; when he saw him with a girl (who was probably not in middle school yet) earlier that afternoon, all he thought of was 'Mama mia! Too cute, too cute! Where art thou Mercy!!!' How can he put it in any other way? His Rival was angelic as they say, he had to admit, and the girl he was with was small, adorable, cute, adorable, timid, adorable and, well… _adorable_. Angel plus Adorable equals CUTENESS OVERLOAD.

After verifying his conclusion that Fuji Syusuke had a Cute Girlfriend, Mizuki Hajime knew of only one thing to do once he sees his rival (aside from gathering more data on his love life, that is): tease him.

…

Hmm… it doesn't seem to sound flashy.

Maybe it's an unoriginal and uncreative thing to do.

Oh well.

…

He slapped his forehead when a light bulb appeared on top of his head, an idea popping out of his noodles.

'_AHA! Maybe Yuuta-kun knows of his brother's affair!'_ He chuckled. _'Wait, scratch that. He __**definitely**__ knows of his brother's affair!'_ He chuckled again. _'Go me, you are such a genius. With this information, I'd probably start interro—'_

**WHAM!**

'—_gating him…'_

**THUD.**

"Mizuki-san?"

Kisarazu Atsushi looked around as soon as he opened the door to check what was outside. "Strange…" he muttered.

"What's strange, da ne?" his duck-like teammate walked to him from behind.

"I think I heard Mizuki-san laughing right outside…"

Yanagisawa looked at him oddly. "I didn't hear anything, da ne… maybe you just got permanently scarred by his wacky fits, da ne."

"Hmm… maybe…" Needless to say, he shivered at the thought.

…

"I—ittai…"

The two regulars looked at Mizuki who was lying by their feet with a large bump on his forehead.

…and is that a light bulb hovering above them right now?

* * *

"Well, Sakuno, how did it go?"

She looked expectantly at the girl who was setting the table for the two of them to eat dinner, patiently waiting for her granddaughter to finish before Sakuno took her seat and finally answered her.

"It was really great, obaa-san!" Sakuno beamed at her childishly, earning her a chuckle from the coach of Seigaku tennis team. That night, her beloved granddaughter volunteered to cook dinner while waiting for her Sumire-baa-san to come home from work. Her grandmother had arrived visibly exhausted and hungry around a quarter before seven PM, and she was thankful for Sakuno's little deed of doing the chores as well as preparing dinner beforehand.

She watched as the little girl said a cheerful 'Itadakimasu', splitting her chopsticks and munching sushi in silent mirth.

"Oh? So what really great thing happened while Fuji took pictures?" said Sumire with a small smile. She too split her chopsticks and began eating, attacking the bowl of kamameshi that was in front of her.

"E-to…" Sakuno swallowed her first piece of sushi and briefly recalled what has ensued that afternoon. Her face brightening considerably, she told her, "The photographers' club that Syusuke-senpai joined was really nice! Um… there was this really beautiful spring garden right at their backyard, a lot of gadgets I'm sure I'm haven't seen before, and there was also Kihoshi-san, the kind lady who greets guests at the office, who tried to glomp me when I wasn't looking… oh, and Oishi-senpai and Tezuka-senpai happened to drop by, too!"

"Eh… really?" Sumire never really heard Sakuno call Fuji 'Syusuke-senpai' before, but then again, anything might've happened a few hours ago. Plus, Sakuno has never failed to land in unexpected circumstances before. Like months ago for example; just imagine her surprise upon knowing that her twelve-year-old granddaughter had met Echizen Ryoma even before the Seigaku regulars did. And Sakuno being invited by Fuji may be a situation categorized as 'unexpected' as well. Anyhow, she'll just have to save that for later.

Sakuno began eating her own bowl of kamameshi as well. "Hai! I was a little nervous with more people around though; but they were great company. I eventually got used to having them around with Syusuke-senpai and we even took a picture of the four of us in it!"

"Oh? May I see it?"

"Anou… it's still in my bag…"

The aged woman smiled at her. "It's okay, I'll just have to look at it later… and Sakuno…?"

"Ah… hai?"

"What else made your smile so big today?" Sumire asked the blinking girl.

"Anou… do I look _that_ happy, obaa-san?"

Sumire drank from her glass of water and looked directly at her granddaughter's wide eyes. She chuckled softly and said, "Quite noticeable, all right. I've taken care of you long enough to familiarize even the slightest expressions you make and the meanings behind them."

"A-Ah… it's because…" Sakuno hung her head low in diffidence, and after a short while, she looked up at her grandmother again, now a proud grin breaking into her feminine features. "Syusuke-senpai asked me to call him by his first name. He also told me that he considered me his friend. Not only him, Syusuke-senpai said, but the other senpai-tachi too! And knowing that made me really happy, obaa-san!"

For a moment, Sumire stilled in silence, surprise gracing her form upon knowing how something like that made her granddaughter exceedingly joyful. She slowly broke into a grin of her own. Trust Sakuno to be in high spirits even at the most little things life can bring; because despite any discomfort and misfortune that may come her way, she had always accepted life the way it was and had never failed to appreciate the simple beauty of it. Somehow, being a direct witness of this part of Sakuno was so refreshing, as if she in her old age can be youthful once again (never mind any form of incredulity the regulars may annoyingly display on the matter).

She placed a hand on her granddaughter's head and ruffled her hair affectionately. Amused, she beamed at Sakuno and said, "Aw, Sakuno. You're just so cute."

* * *

Sitting comfortably on the couch, he shifted the weight of the bag of ice cubes that was perched on top of his sore forehead. Man, of all the dramatic entrances he could and can make, the door just had to bang open right at his face.

"Ah, sorry about that, Mizuki-san. I heard someone laughing earlier and opened the door right away to see who it was…"

Mizuki waved his hand to dismiss the matter and immediately went into thinking mode again. Being Fuji Syusuke's rival, he knew he didn't need to waste time on anything that might distract him from his contemplation. Of course, along with this comes his usual mannerism of twirling a lock of his already curly hair.

Kisarazu and Yanagisawa exchanged looks that may very well be translated as 'Is he thinking of whether the chicken or the egg comes first?' verbally. A Mizuki Hajime that was in too deep of his thoughts is equal to a Mizuki Hajime that would be best not to disturb, as well as a Mizuki Hajime who might possibly be brewing some sinister plot inside that vault you call his head. After all that, when Mizuki Hajime finalizes the sequence of whatever plot to rule the world (of tennis) he has come up with, Mizuki Hajime would most likely be cackling evil laughter and would probably be in his own little world a bit longer than they could wait for, before Mizuki Hajime finally tells them The Plot he has formulated to be put to action.

For lack of better words, 'twisted' would do to describe their manager.

So the two waited. And waited. And waited for a bit longer… okay, quite an understatement. A tad longer… and still no evil 'bwahaha'.

What the hell?!

Yanagisawa gulped uncomfortably. "He really _is_ dead serious, da ne."

The Rudolphian half of the Kisarazu twins nodded uncertainly. "Let's wait a little longer…"

Silence ensued, and the wind that blew _extremely_ softly outside can be heard _very_ clearly from inside.

Then the season's tidings had come when Mizuki, looking like a zombie, started mumbling some words that were surprisingly coherent. _"Yes, most definitely a relationship beyond platonic is what they share…"_

Almost immediately, the two regulars sighed in relief.

But what was their manager _mumbling_ about?

"…_as expected of my rival… (insert chuckle here) Of course I knew he was __**something **__when it comes to the ladies (insert chuckle again)…"_

"Anou… Mizuki-san?"

"…_but my rival's girlfriend looks like someone barely over eleven years of age…"_

Yanagisawa stared. "Rival? He means Seigaku's Fuji Syusuke, doesn't he, da ne?"

"And what about my aniki?"

At the suspicious tone of their kohai's voice, the 'da ne'-ing wonder literally jumped from where he stood, up into the air, in a fashion that was strangely quite analogous as to what happens to Donald Duck when his tail feather is burned/kicked/smacked/poked with a pole.

Some allusion, eh?

Yuuta sweat-dropped at his senpai's antics and said, "Well? What about aniki?"

Kisarazu pointed an index finger to their mumbling manager and muttered, "Listen to his ramblings. You might find them interesting."

The youngest Fuji sibling raised an eyebrow at the pack of ice cubes that was placed on Mizuki's forehead. Deciding to ignore the thing, both his eyebrows were now raised when the tennis club manager chuckled in an insane manner.

"…_(continues chuckling) even __**I**__ admit she's cute, but I wouldn't really make a kid like her my girlfriend… damn, my rival sure is an enigma, choosing __**this**__ time to catch me off guard by showing up in public with a __**girlfriend**__…"_

Yuuta almost choked upon hearing this, gaping at his senpai. "WHAT?"

Of course he knew how to translate things: the expression "someone Mizuki calls his rival" equals "Fuji Syusuke" equals "Fuji Yuuta's older brother".

(Hmm… he never really knew how mathematics can simplify such trivial things in reality… but enough straying from the topic!)

Yanagisawa came back from up high (aka landed on two feet), walked towards him and nodded his head. "Yup, _that's_ what is interesting, da ne."

"But aniki never told me anything about that! Um… I mean, not really any business of mine, but still! I refuse to let any false rumors about him reach other ears! Mizuki-san!"

However, despite the volume of loudness Yuuta's voice had, Mizuki was still swimming around the pool called His World.

"…_but I really can't get over it. The fact that his girlfriend is much, much younger than him, that is…"_

"MIZUKI-SAN! WOULD YOU PLEASE DROP IT!?" Yuuta's voice boomed at maximum volume.

"…_now that I think about it, Fuji-kun __**must**__ be a pedophile…"_

"**MIZUKI-SAN! ANIKI IS NOT I REPEAT ****NOT**** A PEDOPHILE!"** Now Yuuta's voice boomed _beyond_ maximum volume, if that was possible.

Anyhow, due to this, Mizuki's head snapped up and he was FINALLY back to the real world.

"Oh, Yuuta-kun! Just the person I was looking for!"

Blink. "Me?"

"Oh yes!" Mizuki shot up from sitting on his bottom to stand on his feet, startling Yuuta for a split second. "Now, Yuuta-kun, I want you to be honest with all the answers you'll give for my queries."

Another blink. "Hah?"

"So," he walked his way towards the windows, his hands clasped patiently behind him. He was staring at the starry night sky, and the Left Hand Killer was quite positive he felt a certain gleam come off his senpai's eyes. "How long have they been together?"

"Eh? _They?_ Who _'they'_?"

"My loyal disciple," Mizuki turned to look at him with a serious look that took over his face ("I'm NOT your disciple," Yuuta murmured under his breath, and oh Goddess of Mercy, help Mizuki for pointedly ignoring that comment; either that, or the manager just didn't hear it) and continued, "You know very well who I'm talking about: your older brother and his girlfriend."

Sighing, Yuuta crossed his arms and shot him a bored look. "Well, I never knew my aniki had a girlfriend until _now._ He didn't tell me anything about that when I went home last weekend."

"I see, I see…" Mizuki turned to look at the starry night sky again.

"But Mizuki-san, what gave you the idea that aniki has a girlfriend?"

This time, Mizuki turned around more sharply and his three fellow tennis players fell back, Yuuta yelping in shock, Kisarazu shielding himself with his arms, and Yanagisawa quacking 'da ne' like there was no tomorrow.

"The afternoon had given me something to ponder on, my dears. Why, I was just walking my way towards the public courts and humming in satisfaction on the amount of data I had collected from Hyotei Gakuen. But my mood went off…" the tone of his voice oddly had a nostalgic feel to it, even if he was just merely narrating his adventures earlier that afternoon. All of a sudden, the nostalgic feel was no more, when Mizuki began saying things way too fast like this: "…whenTHEFujiSyusukeDECIDEDtocoincidentallySITatanOPENcaféwithaREALLYcuteGIRLsittingwithHIM and they were all lovey-dovey and cute I just CAN'T stand–"

"Mizuki-san! What are you—"

"Hush, Yuuta-kun!" Mizuki gracefully (PFFT!) admonished his interruption. "And did you know? DID YOU KNOW?" He still didn't drop the issue, and was nearing at them with a frighteningly insane glint in his eyes, so frightening that the three other regulars quickly backed away from him as far as possible, and as near as possible to the telephone. Whew, good thing Kisarazu memorized the number of the mental asylum. Mizuki would probably love it there, plus he'll fit in.

Yanagisawa choked in his attempt to speak. "W-W d-d-didn't know, d-da ne!!!"

"WELL, for Those Who Didn't Know, that girl-slash-Fuji-kun's Love Interest was a KID! A KID, I tell you, a KID! Well, the kid _did _look like a lady though, but nonetheless, she's still a KID! With _that_ in mind, who WOULDN'T think Fuji-kun is a pedophile, hah?!"

"M-Mizuki-san!!!" Yuuta managed to speak, desperately holding up his hands in defense. "In otou-san's, obaa-san's, aniki's, nee-san's and my Fuji name you are surely mistaken! And he ISN'T a pedophile, damn it! Mou!" He was trying his best to shield himself completely.

"DON'T swear IN FRONT of your MASTER, Yuuta-kun!"

"All right, all right! Sorry for that, but Mizuki-san! Your saliva projectiles are gross!"

That did it.

"Hai! He's right!" Kisarazu reached for the phone.

Mizuki blinked at them.

"I second that, da ne!" Yanagisawa nudged Kisarazu to hurry with the dialing.

Mizuki turned around, his back now on them, and put a finger under his chin in a 'thinking' fashion. Actually, you can say he was obviously embarrassed at his saliva projectile thing and was fighting any desire to pitifully get himself a boulder and crawl underneath it in shame. Weird, though, the St. Rudolph tennis club manager was emitting a very dark aura. He's having a difficult time getting over the matter, they concluded.

Kisarazu, finding no more need to call the mental asylum, sighed in relief and placed the phone down.

Yanagisawa sighed as well and began to stand up, which took quite a lot of effort since he was shaking.

Yuuta, on the other hand, was trying his best to wipe off any foreign substance on him with a towel.

"Oi! Guys, it's time for dinner!"

Akazawa Yoshirou chose that certain moment to poke his head out from the door. Upon seeing a freaked out Yuuta, a traumatized Atsushi, a shaking Shinya and a sulking Hajime (who had dark vertical lines and hitodama hovering above him), his eyebrows were instantly raised.

"Hey, what the heck happened here?"

* * *

Saturday went and Sunday came, life resumed its peaceful flow. Birds were chirping and trees were dancing… and a doorbell rang.

**DING DONG!**

No one answered the door.

**DING DONG!**

Again, no one answered.

**DING DONG!**

Still, no one answered.

The ringer has patience as small as a peanut, it seems.

**DINGDONGDINGDONGDINGDONGDINGDONGDINGDONGDINGDONGDINGDONG—**

"ALL RIGHT! I'LL ANSWER THE DOOR ALREADY! Sheesh! That lazy seishounen…"

Of all the things that can disturb him from feasting on his adult-rated materials on such a beauuuuutiful day, like Karupin or playing a match against his son for instance, the doorbell just had to be it. Ain't THAT convenient… well, just add in the fact that Rinko and Nanako were out doing some early morning shopping (leaving him, his son plus Karupin at home), and yeah, it's twice convenient. Really.

Scratching the hairs on his chin and yawning all the while, Samurai Nanjiroh walked leisurely towards the threshold of the Echizen residence and opened the door wide. He was about to reprimand whoever it was that rang their doorbell consecutively several times without shame but failed to when he saw two blinking guys standing at their doorstep.

"Ano…" one of them, a tall dude with black spikes for hair, openly stared at his unruly figure and stammered, "G-Good morning! I-is Echizen Ryoma around?"

"Hm? Oh yes he is…"

The other one, a redhead with a bandage on his cheek, greeted him as well and said, "Ah… could we… uh, 'borrow' him for a while? It's urgent!"

"Borrow…? Oh, okay. Wait here…" Nanjiroh turned and made his way to the foot of their stairs before booming. "SEISHOUNEN! YOUR FRIENDS ARE HERE AND WANT TO 'BORROW' YOU!!!"

He received no response except for a 'THUD!' that sounded like someone rolling off his bed.

Nanjiroh grit his teeth and tried again. "RYOMA-SAMA! I SAID YOUR FRIENDS WANT TO 'BORROW' YOU!"

After a few seconds, he heard a somewhat muffled "Be there in a sec".

So… MINUTES LATER.

"Momo-senpai, Kikumaru-senpai, what's going on?" inquired Ryoma in a drowsy voice. He was still sleepy and seemed unperturbed by the outraged expressions painted across his fellow regulars' faces. Minutes earlier, the two were at their doorstep and had supposedly wanted to 'borrow' him, and here he was now, being practically dragged by the two senpai-tachi who were sort of in a hurry. Er, no, screw that. They _were_ in a hurry.

"Guess what we saw, nyah!" Eiji glanced at him with that seemingly outraged face. "You might not believe us when we tell you, so we decided to _show _you instead – nyah, Momo, where was it again???"

"Ah… Oh, it's here! Yeah, here!" Momoshiro turned a corner, yanking Ryoma by the collar of his shirt along with Kikumaru, and the young Echizen had a hard time standing still on his feet when the two rascals abruptly let go of him. They stopped in front of, Ryoma realized as he gazed above him, a studio for photographers.

He squinted a bit. _'Sa… Sayonji? Where is this?'_

"Echizen! LOOK, man, LOOK at what's IN FRONT of you!" Momoshiro shouted at his ear. Really, they forcefully _threw_ the tennis prince to stand right _in front_ of the object of their sudden interest and Echizen Ryoma, THE Samurai Junior Who Was Also A Freshman Regular At Seigaku, looks ABOVE?! Above, where one needs to squint to see properly, instead of In Front, where he just needs to look directly ahead of him to get the best view? Honestly!

Flinching at the loud voice, Ryoma did what he was told. Eiji and Momo practically had to wait thirty full seconds for Ryoma to register what was in front of him.

Ryoma, on the other hand, stared at the poster in front of him. His eyes widened upon fully realizing that the pretty girl wearing a kimono in the poster with a sakura tree in the background was Ryuzaki Sakuno. Below were the text that said: "Sayonji Studios and Photographers' Guild to hold an open exhibit of its members' Spring Photo Collection Gallery soon."

Eiji grinned at him. "Finally got it now, nyah? It IS Ryuzaki-chan! She's SOOOOOO cute nyah!"

Momo nodded eagerly. "I didn't even know she's a model!"

Noticing the blank look on their kohai's face, they frowned and mercilessly pinched his cheeks hard.

"I-I-Ittai! Kikumaru-senpai! Momo-senpai!!! Itai—!"

They must've eaten something for breakfast to make them go to this certain mode when Ryoma knew he didn't do anything, deliberate or unintentional, that might make them angry… or so he thought.

"You know, Echizen," Momo-senpai had this really crazed expression on his face, something which told Ryoma that he would likely be dead man walking once their fit is over. "You can at least say things like 'ZOMG SHE'S SO FRICKEN CUTE!' or 'RYUZAKI IS SO CUTE!' or 'THAT'S MY GIRLFRIEND!' and all you do is look at it like it was some English test paper we all know you'll get a perfect score of! Sheesh, you walking piece of iceberg! You really _do_ need a life!"

"Sou! Listen to your senpai, Ochibi!" What the tennis prince saw that was called Kikumaru-senpai's face was as scary as, if not even more, that of Momo's, mainly because the redhead's expression screamed **'FANBOY!'**

Ryoma visibly paled. No, not _that_. Of all crap and stuff the author can throw at him, just not _that_. He's still young, has dreams to pursue, and therefore cannot die early! And besides, he didn't do anything so wrong for him to be punished like this! Really, all he did was read the script chucked at his face even before the story started—

"Oh, what's this? Echizen, you're being pwned!"

The drama stopped quite suddenly when the senior, junior and freshman looked over their shoulders at the sound of the teasing voice.

Three pairs of eyes blinked.

Momoshiro was the first one to recover. "S-St. Rudolph???!!!???!!!"

Yes, standing in front of them in all their Rudolphian jersey glory were two of the regulars of the said school.

"Oh. The One Who Lost To Fuji-senpai Flat Out and The 'Da Ne'-ing Wonder." Ryoma greeted them blankly with a nod. _'And I was SO not being pwned,' _he added as an afterthought.

The 'Da Ne'-ing Wonder comically turned to stone.

The One Who Lost To Fuji-senpai Flat Out violently flinched at his name being easily forgotten by the tennis prince, but thought it best not to get riled up by a puny thing, no matter how insulting it might have been. "My, my. If it isn't Echizen-kun, Momoshiro-kun and Kikumaru-kun,"

Crap. Mizuki was doing that twirling-a-lock-of-hair thing again. Only the gods knew how the heck such a small mannerism is able to make the hairs on their skin stand like it did now. Freaky did the job in describing it. If Mizuki wanted to curl his hair so badly, why not use _real_ hair curlers instead?

On second thought, that was even freakier. Shiver shiver.

"What are you two doing here anyway?" Eiji asked them, his tone evidently suspicious.

Yanagisawa, having recovered miraculously quick from his previous state of petrification, snarled unpleasantly, answering him, "Don't flatter yourselves, da ne. We're just on our way to eat somewhere."

Ignoring the disapproving looks the three Seigaku regulars shot at them, Mizuki chuckled and drawled, "Now what, pray tell, had captured these three rascals' interest so as to make them huddle around a corner and gape, hm? My senses detect a conspiracy nearby…" ("Well, your senses sure do suck," Eiji murmured under his breath.)

Seeing as the three rascals now shot him bored looks, Mizuki looked over Ryoma's shoulder to find out what was so interesting there.

…It was a poster…

Then his eyes widened in shock.

Yanagisawa nudged the team manager at the ribs. "Come on, I wanna eat, da ne!" He received no response from Mizuki and shot him a questioning look. "Mizuki?"

"THAT'S HER!!!"

"What?" The other four chorused, baffled at how Mizuki was pointing a shaking finger at something over Echizen's shoulder.

"THERE IS NO MISTAKE! THAT'S **DEFINITELY** FUJI-KUN'S GIRLFRIEND!"

* * *

"A-ACHOO—!"

He lightly dabbed his nose with a tissue. _'Hmm… someone misses me…'_

He glanced at his watch.

She was thirty minutes late already.

'_Now what's taking Sakuno-chan so long…?'_

* * *

'_That's odd. The bus still hasn't arrived… I wonder if traffic is heavy…?'_

Around thirty minutes had already passed since he stood by the post, waiting for the bus that stopped there every ninety minutes. It was a really great Sunday morning; they had finished practice about an hour ago, and he was going to pay his older siblings a visit. Aside from his onee-san baking delicious pie for him to eat once he arrives, his actual agenda was to interrogate his aniki about being spotted dating a girl they (the St. Rudolph regulars) dubbed as Fuji Syusuke's Girlfriend.

Yuuta really didn't know whether to believe it or not. Sure, it was credible, since he knows aniki is quite popular with the ladies (oh yes, how he remembered his aniki's annoying fangirls back on his Seigaku days; they kept on asking him to deliver their gifts to the object of their affection, those DAMN witches!), but he knew his aniki too well. Aniki wouldn't really think of committing in a relationship most especially with a kid (as Mizuki put it), would he? 'Cause the news DID get him off guard. Even Mizuki-san can't get over the issue and could not shut up about it, thus every one of the Rudolph regulars knew of it already.

Oh well. He'll have wait for the answer once he gets home.

'_But where IS the bus?'_

So he waited… he looked ahead of him, staring at nothing in particular. Just a bored look and impatient face spacing out.

Then he heard a little voice somewhere behind him.

"Oh no… I'm late… where was it…? Mou…"

Said voice was not directed towards him, but he can't help but feel the natural Fuji compassionate mood for whoever it was. He glanced over his shoulder and his eyes immediately spotted a small girl who had two long, auburn braids and was carrying a lunchbox or some sort. She looked like a middle school freshman, and more obviously seemed to be lost and was late to whatever rendezvous she had for the morning.

And hey, she's cute.

Yuuta sighed. All right, here goes something.

"Hey."

The girl looked like she froze for a moment before she cocked her head to look at him with wide eyes. He blinked in confusion when she bowed respectfully and greeted, "A-Anou… hello, Fuji Yuuta-san!"

His confused look became more evident. "Hello. Ah… do I know you…?" he asked the polite girl kindly.

"U-Um… maybe not… but I've watched Fuji Yuuta-san play tennis against our school's tennis team. I'm from Seigaku, and I'm a friend of Syusuke-senpai!" she bowed again.

"Aniki…? You're aniki's friend?"

"Hai!" she replied happily.

"Ahie… well then, nice to meet you, er—?" He gave her a questioning look that the girl understood well.

"Ryuzaki Sakuno, Yuuta-san! Nice to meet you too," she bowed again. When she faced him again, she was smiling at him all too adorably, and he suddenly felt he didn't mind the girl calling him by his first name.

Yuuta smiled at her and said, "Well, um… you look like you're lost or something… so, where to?"

Sakuno blushed slightly at Yuuta's offer of taking her to her destination. She timidly looked at him and spoke in a somewhat embarrassed manner. "Um… I'm on my way to Sayonji Studios… I've only been there once with Syusuke-senpai, yesterday. I-I'm pretty bad at directions… but I don't want to be a burden to Yuuta-san!"

The St. Rudolph regular only grinned at her, quickly dismissing her embarrassment. "Don't worry, I'm not in a hurry. I know where it is; aniki goes there a few times a week… must be an affiliation or something." Then a thought struck him, making him pause for a full five seconds. He looked anxiously at her when he added, "Say… you're meeting up with my aniki, aren't you?"

She nodded and spoke slightly wistfully, "Hai, but I'm half an hour late already…"

Well then, if his aniki was now at the Photographers' Studio, he might as well tag along with Sakuno. The sooner he gets to his aniki, the sooner he can get answers to certain questions storming in his head; _and_ the sooner he gets his answers, the sooner he can make sure his sanity, or whatever was left from it, is still intact!

Yosh!

"Then what are we standing here for? Let's go, Sakuno-chan!" he grinned at Sakuno, who blushed a light shade of red at being called 'Sakuno-chan' right away and nodded timidly with a small smile in return. Yuuta's grin grew wider; she was SO cute! Maybe his aniki get loads of inspiration from this cute little girl other than his cacti in taking pictures. Like, duh, they _were_ on their way to a studio…

* * *

"R-Ryoma-kun?!"

While his senpai-tachi and two St. Rudolph regulars were so engrossed in a Ryuzaki Sakuno-centric conversation (gawd, they make obsessed fangirls look like some pathetic excuse for gossip mongers), the Prince of Tennis turned around when he heard a familiar voice call him.

Lo and behold, the object of the other four's conversation was standing some few feet away from him… next to Fuji Yuuta.

(Hmm… his neurons were probably malfunctioning. He was supposed to react; you know, look shocked or scream '_¡Ay, caramba!_'… NOT look as cool and cocky as usual…)

Ryoma's form stiffened when he set eyes on Ryuzaki Sakuno and Fuji Yuuta standing next to each other.

(…oh well, that can be considered a 'reaction' classified as un-cool and un-cocky, I guess…)

What _exactly_ is going on here?

(And more importantly, how _did_ he manage to _not_ forget Fuji Yuuta, what with his _outstanding_ memory range and all?!)

The Left Hand Killer stared at him and exclaimed, "Echizen?! You're here too?" He stole glance behind the young tennis player and his jaws almost hit the floor in shock. (Now _that_, Ryoma-kun, is what you call a 'reaction'… hah.)

"MI-MIZUKI-SAN???!!! YANAGISAWA-SENPAI???!!!"

Mizuki, Yanagisawa, Kikumaru and Momoshiro stopped their brief fraternizing discussion on Ryuzaki Sakuno (with side dish Fuji Syusuke) and stared at the newcomers. The two Seigaku regulars looked all too shocked speechless when they saw their cute little kouhai stand beside Fuji Yuuta. The two St. Rudolph regulars, meanwhile, were shocked beyond ultimate WTF-age when they finally, personally saw the one they dubbed as 'Fuji Syusuke's Girlfriend' standing right before them.

"Anou… what are you all doing here…?"

Blank silence ensued after Sakuno's query came up, after which Mizuki conveniently decided to crack up and laugh maniacally. This earned him a nervous squeak from the girl, who automatically hid behind Yuuta, who glowered damn too darkly at Mizuki, who was still 'bwahaha'-ing behind Ryoma, who was secretly narrowing his eyes at Yuuta, who – bah, you know the drill.

"Mizuki-san! Stop that! You're scaring Sakuno-chan here!" Yuuta briefly glanced at the trembling girl behind him.

He looked back at the boys, only to be met with meticulously raised eyebrows.

Whoops.

"Oi, oi! Since when were you two close, nyah?!" Kikumaru bounced right in front of him, his face pouting, telling Yuuta that the redhead didn't approve of him and Sakuno being seen together, much less him calling her 'Sakuno-chan'.

For the life of him, the young Fuji didn't know why he suddenly felt hot at the face. Was he blushing? And yes, here is where Ryoma's sharp eyes narrow at him menacingly.

Of course, Kikumaru's keen eyesight noticed this as well, and before he can start a rant about seeing a spectacle in a form of a blushing Yuuta, Mizuki tackled him to the side and was now standing directly in front of Yuuta and Sakuno ("Oi! Tch, how rude!" Eiji fumed). He was chuckling…

…and somewhere along his chuckling lines, he addressed to Sakuno: "You are Ryuzaki Sakuno, I presume? As in, My Rival's Girlfriend?"

The girl's normally wide eyes widened a few more millimeters, and she was blushing furiously behind Yuuta, so furiously that the heat she was emitting might suffice in toasting sliced bread.

Yuuta, on the other hand, was struck with a lightning of realization. He can vaguely recall Sakuno's words from earlier: _"Um… I'm on my way to Sayonji Studios… I've only been there once with Syusuke-senpai, yesterday…" _

Yesterday… _yesterday_… _**yesterday…**_

'_Wait! She said she was with aniki yesterday, right?! So that means… Sakuno IS the one we dubbed as aniki's girlfriend!!!'_

In a flash, Momoshiro swatted Mizuki to the side with his large hand, sending the manager flying all the way behind the bushes that were situated innocently nearby. Yanagisawa quacked in panic and dashed towards where Mizuki landed behind the bushes to aid him.

The dunk master huffed and bellowed, "We TOLD ya, Mizuki-san! Ryuzaki-chan is NOT Fuji-senpai's girlfriend! There's absolutely NO WAY we're going to let FujiSaku happen! Absolutely NO way!"

"Sou, sou!" Kikumaru joined in.

Ryoma rolled his eyes. _'Here they go again.'_

Yuuta sweat-dropped upon hearing the word 'FujiSaku'. Really, fanboys nowadays…

He shrugged and looked down at Sakuno, who was still holding a death grip on him from behind. "Hey, Sakuno-chan… it's, ah, it's all right now…"

Sakuno slightly stopped trembling and loosened her tight hold on him. Her adorable eyes blinked when she looked at him (again, Yuuta noted how cute she was), then she glanced at the others. When she realized that Mizuki and Yanagisawa were no where in sight, she sighed.

Yuuta was taken aback when she suddenly began to apologize over and over.

"A-A-Anou!!! I-I'm really s-s-sorry, Yuuta-san! I-I was holding on to y-y-you in a death grip a-and —aaah! I'm just so sorry—!" she bent down in embarrassment, her braids wildly flapping behind her.

"No, it's okay, Sakuno-chan. _I_ should be the one to say sorry, though." He patted her head gently, like how Syusuke-senpai usually does, and grinned apologetically. "Well, I'll say sorry for Mizuki, that is. He mindlessly jumped into the conclusion about… you know… but anyway! Um… yeah…"

Sakuno stared at him quietly for a moment before breaking into a big grin. "Ah — hai! It's okay, Yuuta-san."

…

"What're you two doing here anyway?" a slightly annoyed voice interrupted.

The girl instantly blushed and stuttered, "R-R-Ryoma-kun!"

Yuuta looked at Ryoma warily. Is it just him, or was this freshman _glaring_ at him? Oh… he really _was_ glaring. How nice of him.

"Oh yeah, what _are_ you two doing here?" asked Momoshiro, looking from Yuuta to Sakuno. Eiji too shot both of them a questioning look.

"Oh! Momo-senpai, Kikumaru-senpai! Anou… I'm supposed to meet Syusuke-senpai here inside this studio" —she pointed at the entrance of Sayonji Studios— "but on the way I, uh… I g-got lost… but luckily I came across Yuuta-san and he brought me here…!"

Kikumaru, Momoshiro and Ryoma tilted their heads in wonder. 'Syusuke-senpai'? Didn't she call him by his surname like everybody else? Hmm… seems like Fuji has made a move… still, Ryoma had been called 'Ryoma-kun' from the beginning of Tennis no Oujisama, so yeah, 'YOU GOTTA TRY HARDER THAN THAT, FUJIKO-CHAN/FUJI-SENPAI!' the three thought simultaneously.

"Anyway! Ryuzaki-chan, you look SO cute at that poster, nyah!"

Kikumaru was now glomping Sakuno, blissfully doing so with a huge grin plastered on his face. Sakuno sweat-dropped for a second before looking ahead of her, where she spotted the poster right at the entrance of the studio. _'So Kihoshi-san really did put it up right away…'_

Yuuta noticed the door which served as entrance of the studio open and he waved at the person who came out of it.

"Aniki!"

Syusuke immediately spotted his younger brother waving at him from a small distance. He was standing next to Sakuno-chan, who noticed him as well… and why were Eiji, Momo and Echizen with them too?

"Syusuke-senpai!!!"

He smiled at his adorable kohai who ran to him and bowed. "Anou— I'm sorry for being late! I got lost on the way… but I'm now here since Yuuta-san led me here… uhm… I'm sorry…!!!" She bowed and apologized repeatedly, at which the tensai only smiled.

"She really does apologize a lot, neh, aniki?" Yuuta walked to them and playfully said, throwing a teasing look at Sakuno who pouted childishly at him. The younger Fuji stuck a tongue at her teasingly and Sakuno countered it with a light punch on his arm.

Then there was a flash.

"S-S-Syusuke-senpai!"

"Aniki!"

"Well, that was a cute one." Smiling happily, the tensai placed his camera back where it was, as quickly as how he put it out. "Hmm… well now, shall we all go inside? Oh… Eiji, Momo, Echizen — you can come in too, if you want."

They all went inside quite peacefully. Well, minus the fact that Yuuta was trying to grab his aniki's camera at random moments, Momo was saying how hungry he was, and Eiji was glomping Ryoma and Sakuno, and yes, it really was what you call 'peaceful'.

…Then another entity glomped her.

"Sakuno-chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan…!!!"

"Ki-Kihoshi-san!"

And for the rest of the day, inside Sayonji Studios and Photographers' Club, six people had quite a fun time.

Especially when a camera flash catches them off guard at the most random moments.

* * *

"Where are we going, da ne?"

"Oh, we're going _somewhere_ alright! Fuji-kun's not getting away that easily! Life must go oooooooooon…!"

"Where _exactly_ is this somewhere, da ne?"

"Yessssssssss, I need a vent, won't you say!? I had _such _a hard day! TO THE TENNIS COURTS!!!"

"NA-NA-NA-NANI?!"

* * *

"Iie, Tomo-chan! I-It wasn't a date! R-Really!" she stuttered at the phone.

"_OOOOH, really?!"_

"Hai! Because if it was the r-real thing, I should've told you sooner!" Sakuno held unto the receiver of the phone tightly, hoping her best friend would let the matter go. It seems like she did, thank God.

"_Hmmm… okay. I believe you. But you know, I kind of freaked out when I heard from the senpai-tachi that you and Fuji-senpai were together yesterday! AND today!"_

"…w-well, Kikumaru-senpai, Momo-senpai, Ryoma-kun and Yuuta-san were there, too!"

"_NANI?! RYOMA-SAMA?!"_

"Hai."

"_SOOOOOOOOOO, did he do something cool to you? Like get on his knees or confess—"_

"T-Tomo-chan! You're way off! Nothing like that happened," _'and could ever happen'_, she added as a thought wistfully.

"—_EH?! Oh man, Ryoma-sama really is mada mada dane himself when it comes to that! Well anyway, I just called to know how you're doing with your love life and stuff, because I was alarmed when I heard from Mizuki-san of St. Rudolph the news of you being Fuji-senpai's significant other, and he actually slipped that obviously false tidbit to those pips from Fudomine, Jyosei Shonan, Yamabuki's Sengoku-san and some more random dudes…"_

"N-N-N-NANI?!"

"_Oh, don't worry! When I heard him earlier, I was about to smack him senseless until he can be smacked no more, but luckily they didn't seem to believe it, which is a good thing… hey, you're safe, so don't worry!"_

"Ah… hai…"

"_Well then, that's all! Chat with you later, bye!"_

"Bye."

A sigh escaped her lips as she hung up the receiver.

Oh great. She was simply hanging out with Syusuke-senpai yesterday and now quite a fraction of the whole world of TeniPuri already knew of such intrigue! And a false one at that! Why won't that Mizuki-san shut up anyway?! She actually preferred being a wallflower and an almost non-existent member of the cast of PoT… well, not really… but still! She had a right to sue the St. Rudolph tennis team manager for such slander, even if it was merely out of his habit of jumping to conclusions!

Wait… Tomo-chan said that _they_ didn't believe him, right?

So why should she worry?

'_I guess this is where my female intuition kicks in.'_ Sakuno thought to herself, heaving a very exhausted sigh in the process. _'And this intuition tells me that I might not live my life in peace for quite a while.'_

This hunch of hers was verified even further when the phone rang, breaking the silence at the Ryuzaki residence.

Answering the call, she silently bid her Halcyon days farewell.

TBC

* * *

**A/N:** Mah! I'm over-exaggerating things with how I write! And I put a lot of parentheses and always mention how cute Sakuno is. Sorry if that bothers you, I just can't help it… SO, the cliffy's asking you who called. About the Rudolph dudes… I can't seem to make them all appear because in doing so, I tend to beat around a lot of bushes and make the story even more incomprehensible. Man, I suck… But anyway, a lot more pairings are coming your way, so please be patient! Sakuno's a twelve-year-old, may I remind -grins-… Next up: **Fudomine, **and what's this? A double date?! Wow, I'm spoiling my readers. Tackle me if you wish!

If there are any plot errors and confusions you find, please tell me so I can edit right away!

It took me a long time to do this chapter, so reviews are appreciated _very much_. Thanks! ♪

-Meowzie  
05.23.07


	3. Fudomine: Not At All WorryFree

**A/N:** ZOMG THIS LIL FICCY GOT OVER 1000 HITS ALREADY!!! And thanks for the wonderful reviews! I'm sorry for the much delayed update, because it's all thanks to the Bleach marathon I'm all on at Crunchyroll you all had to wait…! I hope this uber LONG chapter makes you happy!

I'll try to keep my bunnies intact before I step in college this… -GASP- **Wednesday**?! Wha'?! Time flies SO fast!

If anyone wonders what part of the PoT time frame this fic takes place, it's the time between the Rikkaidai and Nationals arc. There are a lot of alterations in the main storyline if this fic joins with it, so this is sort of semi-AU-ish. And I had said this fic had a double date… but it's not the main focus of this chapter. There's something else…

**DISCLAIMER: **Takeshi Konomi owns the manga and its characters.

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**Auburn Legend**  
© Doctor Meowzie

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THREE**  
Fudomine: Adventures on a Not-At-All-Worry-Free Monday Afternoon**-  
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Sparing a last look for the day at the Seigaku tennis courts, Sakuno walked wordlessly to the gates of the campus.

The little girl had a faraway look in her eyes, clearly contemplating on thoughts that she had resolved to clear out ever since last night.

One may find the unbelieving look in the girl's large brown eyes unimaginably adorable when her friend Tachibana An had called last night, their phone ringing right after she had finished a conversation with her best friend, Tomoka. Just as Tomo-chan had asked her to validate the issue concerning her little date with Syusuke-senpai last Saturday, An-chan also wanted to verbally poke her to get as much information in detail as she could on the very same topic.

Sakuno could understand them, really. They were normal girls like her who wanted to do some girl talk and chatter. And they were her good friends, too. It was quite natural for them not to let the matter slip away from their grasp easily, since they themselves wanted to make sure they get the juicy information on her love life. Either to tease her of to protect her from heartbreak, it's their pick. All the same, Sakuno trusted them for she knew their intentions were good.

But the girl also found their ways of interrogating her slightly overboard. It wasn't a big deal, was it? She was just walking around the streets with a _friend!_

Putting that aside, Sakuno decided she'll just have to settle with the notion that maybe she really was unlike them; if Sakuno was at their place, she'll patiently wait for them to spill out their worries and concerns about boys, seeing as she was a quiet type, instead of throwing a chain of questions that would take all her strength to stop from getting carried away.

Sakuno briefly wondered if her silent nature ever bothered Tomo-chan and An-chan. She never really recalled how she became friends with the two; maybe it was not her, but _them_, who made the great effort of making friends with the other.

Sometimes, Sakuno thought she was _so_ boring, she sucked big time.

It was weird how just walking across the wide field towards the gates seemed to take forever for Sakuno. An-chan said she was going to drop by Seigaku for the two of them to spend quality time together, which meant more girl talk. She told Tomo-chan about this during class, and the pig-tailed girl suddenly went on a rant on how pathetic she was for not being able to hang around Sakuno more often.

'_Why'd she think that? You're not pathetic at all, Tomo-chan.'_

Sakuno also knew very well that every time the two were apart, Tomoka can't stay put and has to check on her by calling her, being a responsible big sister to her like how she is towards her baby brothers. That'd give anyone wondering why the two were always not without the other a clue to the question they'd probably like to answer themselves.

'_Tomo-chan has always been worried for me... Klutzy little me.'_

_**One.**_

She sighed.

'_Gomen, An-chan. I don't know why I'm moving a snail's pace right now, so I might be delayed in meeting up with you…'_ she thought, as if she was a deceased soul entering the gates of Mt. Purgatory. With her eyes closed and her head threatening to multiply its weight on her shoulders five times, she failed to notice that her right foot had finally stepped out of Seishun territory and that a hand grabbed her by the arm, stopping her from moving forward.

'_Mou… it's a painstakingly long journey… An-chan, it might take me a longer while just to reach you, gomen…'_ she admittedly felt scared at herself for thinking of such thought, in a suicidal manner no less. _'And now my feet won't take me any further! Oh no… what's happening to me?'_

"Sakuno-chan?"

'_Aaaaah! Some entity's gripping my arm!'_

"Hey, Sakuno!"

'_And the entity-whatchamacalldem knows my name too!'_

"A-Are you sleep-walking!? Cool!"

'_So this is what it feels like when you die…'_

…

Now where did _that_ come from?

…

"GOSH, SAKUNO! (GASP) ECHIZEN'S LOOKING YOUR WAY!!!"

'_Echizen is here… Echizen… Ryoma…'_

…

Then the Light of Realization shined down upon her.

'_R-R-R-R-R-RYOMA-KUN?!'_

She snapped back to normal.

"R-R-R-R-R-R-R-Ryoma-kun?! Wh-Where?! Where?!" She whipped her head around left and right so fast, she was sort of amazed her eyes can even determine that there was no trace of the tennis genius. "Oh no…! H-He must have s-seen me and thought I was s-s-such a pathetic weirdo then r-r-ran away…! What am I going to do… Mou…! Sakuno, you're so stupid!!! Now what d-d-does he think of y-you…?" Sakuno worriedly rambled to no one in particular.

A finger poked the surface of her forehead, and with a clueless blink, Sakuno noticed An grin sheepishly at her.

"Gotcha."

"A-A-A-An-ch-ch-chan!!! Anou… I'm… ah—gome—"

"Nah, it's okay. And hey, you're only a minute late. Like that matters," her friend from Fudomine waved a dismissive hand, assuring her it's all right. She then shot the younger girl an amused look. "But really, Sakuno… you've been spotted dating Fuji-san and you still think about Echizen-kun…"

"A-Ah, well… that's…" the girl stammered, blushing in embarrassment. Then her blushing colors went up a few more notches brighter when her embarrassment turned into indignation. "Mou, An-chan! I t-told you, it wasn't _that_ sort of date…!"

The grin on An's face neither wavered nor dropped. "Says she who had called herself Echizen Ryoma's Fan! And hey, Echizen-kun sure looks like he has a future with tennis as his wife, so I'm more on the FujiSaku side! Hellyeah, we rule!" the young Tachibana punched a fist in the air, earning her more than a few sweatdrops from Sakuno. Gee, her friend sure is hyper today. _'Don't tell me she'll be more than willing to write a novel about Syusuke-senpai and I, because I feel like I'd rather bury myself alive and hire someone like Edgar Allan Poe to write me a lovely epitaph beforehand…'_

No! That was another suicidal idea! Bad Sakuno, bad bad BAD!!! Where d'ya get all these pessimism, hm? You're so OOC today! It's not the end of the world! There are still fishes in the sea! There are still BISHIES in the sea!

Whoops. Out of topic.

"Hey, Sakuno, I notice you've been depressed lately. You're making me worried, you know," her friend commented as soon as her momentary fangirling was over.

_**Two.**_

"I know, maybe writing a romance novel or some sort about you two might cheer you up!"

'_Write a novel? Didn't I think of that just now?' _Sakuno shook her head slightly as An continued her fangirl fantasies.

In truth, Sakuno didn't know she was obviously _that_ depressed; and the fact that she was slightly envious of how fangirls' lives only involve fangirling, fanworking and getting inspired compared to her life of worrying, stuttering and sucking at directions only doubled her depression. Even though she, with the long-ago approval of Tomo-chan and An-chan, had dubbed herself Echizen Ryoma's Fangirl, Sakuno still didn't feel like a fangirl at all. And this fact did nothing but simply tripled her depression, making matters worse.

Well, Sakuno, maybe this is what they mean by the phrase "fandom is a way of life."

Of course, being recruited as part of the fangirl race was not part of her priorities, for she was Ryuzaki Sakuno, who wasn't such a big hit to begin with.

She had more things to worry about. Like the major English test next week, the Nationals her grandmother and senpai-tachi are looking forward to…

…and people thinking she, in her twelve-year-old youth, had a boyfriend.

Come on, what would her grandmother think once she hears about it? Sakuno was quite sure she'll never hear the end of it from her.

(And she's not an emo. She's just depressed, really, and certainly pressured as to how things turned out, because let's admit it; everyone _has_ a public image to care for and maintain, right? That fact, plus Sakuno worries too much, probably to a degree that exceeds her obaa-san's.)

Okay, Sakuno, do what you have to do.

"An-chan…" Sakuno began, looking her friend straight at the eye and speaking in a soft albeit firm voice, "I'll show you where we went last Saturday and do some explaining, because I really hope this misunderstanding will be cleared once and for all."

An looked curiously at her friend. Sakuno seemed quite serious about the issue; the girl didn't even stutter or shift gazes, which surely meant something. Maybe she was offended at being teased… whatever the reason, she'll just have to respect her friend for that. Giving Sakuno an assuring smile, An giggled lightly and said, "Aw, Sakuno, you still look adorable when you're serious! Okay, okay, lead the way, Captain!"

The young Tachibana inwardly sighed in relief when Sakuno's near-pouting look turned into a bright smile.

Sakuno's spirits lifted at An's response; she really was grateful for having an understanding friend, a trustworthy female to hang out with other than Tomo-chan; it was just unfortunate that they didn't attend the same school. If An was her senpai, Sakuno would always have someone to look up to, someone who would encourage her and would truly acknowledge her hard work in tennis.

Their feet carried them off to the destination only Sakuno knew of, and said girl hopefully will get the directions right this time…

* * *

…and as soon as they arrived the place, An could only open her mouth in awe and say "Wow! You look so pretty there!" 

Sakuno nodded her head timidly, her firm façade now gone; she wasn't used to people praising her, especially on something she didn't exert a huge amount of effort for. But she had no other choice; if she was going to tell An the whole truth behind her current issue of interest, showing her _this_ particular advertising poster of the centre of Syusuke-senpai's affiliation was the best way to do so.

"Uh… Syusuke-senpai asked me if he could take pictures of me for a major project their club is currently working on"—both girls looked at the logo of Sayonji Studios that was superimposed above them, in neon lights that have not yet been turned on for it was still daytime—"so we went out last Saturday."

"Hm… I see…" An stuck a finger at her chin thoughtfully. "But wait — I saw you two eating pretzels together at the Fleur Café too! And when Mizuki-san from St. Rudolph was sticking around like a zombie at our school's courts yesterday—Nii-chan and I caught him, that knucklehead—he was raving about Fuji-san being a pedophile and the Fleur Café as well!" She soon realized her voice was too loud and that what she had said was quite the mistake as soon as all the color that normally adorned Sakuno's face was drained thoroughly, making the young girl's face deathly pale.

"Ah-eh… to… Sakuno?"

The twin-braided girl stared at An with a look of pure horror unlike any other. She stuttered horribly when she said, "S-S-S-S-S-Syu-su-suke-senpai… pe-pe-pe-ped-pedo-ph-ph-ph-phile?" Oh dear, look at the cute girl's face… she looked like her all her soul was sucked away. And who'd ever thought that innocent little Sakuno-chan _knew_ the meaning of 'pedophile'?

"Hey! It was Mizuki-san exaggerating!" she tried to change the mood so as to make the newly arrived dark lines hovering above Sakuno shoo off, giggling nervously as an attempt. "Besides, that guy seriously needs to get his brains fixed, don't you agree? Andwhile you're praying for that miracle to happen, you can just sue him for now!"

Once An blinked her eyes, she found Sakuno looking at her as if she had just given the idea of the century. The mysterious dark lines disappeared and her stuttering voice was no more. Sakuno seemed to think for a short moment, before she gave a response that would make An do a hula dance of victory in her mind.

"Okay."

Yes, it was definitely a good day.

"So Sakuno," An tried to strike up a new conversation with a new topic, this time making sure she won't get too carried away to the point of sending Sakuno to a frenzied state that looked _so much_ like brooding. The poor girl had been waaaaaaaaaaaaay too OOC for her own good lately. "…this poster says… er, they'll be holding an exhibit soon. When _is _this soon?"

"Well…" Sakuno began, in the sweet tone that An was relieved to hear from her never-fit-to-be-an-emo friend. "I remember the staff saying around next week or something… We'll just have to drop by around then to see, neh?"

"I'll look forward to it then!" exclaimed An as the two girls started to walk, talking animatedly with each other. "Hmm… we still have some time in our hands… do you have a lot of homework to do today?"

Sakuno shook her head. "Not really much. Just a page from a book we have to read."

"Well then—let's go play at the public tennis courts! Did you bring your racquet with you?"

"Hai," said Sakuno, remembering that she had skipped club practice for the afternoon. Boy, she'll really have it from her buchou tomorrow. Oh well, all the trouble's worth it anyway. Maybe if fate was kind and she'd do the ol' puppy-dog-eyes trick, she might even escape their team captain's wrath.

"Yosh! Let's see how much you've improved!" An clamped an encouraging hand on Sakuno's shoulder.

The Seigaku freshman gave her a shy grin of her own, silently thinking that yes, it was definitely a good day.

* * *

It did not take them long to reach their destination. 

As soon as they arrived at the usual public courts where the two occasionally hang out to play, both females put out their tennis racquets and made their way to the court they chose. It didn't really matter which court they chose though, since the whole public area itself was unpopulated, save for the two of them… which was unusual.

Tapping the side of her racquet on her shoulder, An looked around with a frown. "Hm, that's odd… is there a party somewhere? The usual guys playing here aren't around."

"I don't know…" said Sakuno.

It wasn't long until An's question was answered when they heard loud howls and boisterous laughter that emitted from the throats of rude young men entering the courts, near to where they stood. The two girls immediately recognized them as tennis players from the clothes they wore. The way their animated talking seemed to be more like insane screaming made them look like drunken people who'd most likely slump and fall down to the ground face first any minute now.

Their noise seemed to grow louder and louder by the second, and when they became clear to An and Sakuno's view, both mentally noted that there were four of these obnoxious young men who were definitely not drunk; and judging from their build and the way they were acting, they looked like middle school students as well, but obviously not freshmen.

What was more obvious was that they were not the usual people who played at the courts they were treading upon.

"Heh, if you ask me I'd say that geek was an idiot!" one of them, a bald dude whose crowning glory, or absence thereof, reflected the sun's rays that blinded Sakuno a bit, bellowed too loudly. An raised an eyebrow at the rude lot, as if shooting them a silently annoyed question that can earn them a broken nose if not answered.

Then unpleasant laughter erupted from their side of the court. It looks like one of them told the joke of the century, which An also knew to be something that sounded like someone getting hurt. The Tachibana girl was glaring at them now because of all the noise they were making. She then raised her own racquet and took a few stomps towards the noisy lot; obviously she was going to shut them up, and whether she was going to tell them off or whack their faces with her racquet, Sakuno didn't know.

The younger girl tried to stop An from doing anything that might get them unto trouble. Her attempt had been futile, however, and she clutched her racquet tighter upon noticing that the rude young men ceased their boisterous laughing and now had their full attention towards her and An.

"Oi, Kazuki," the tallest one among them barked at another, jerking a thumb towards the two girls' direction. "I thought you scared every one so that we could have this court all to ourselves?"

An stopped in her tracks and whispered a "Huh?" to herself.

So _that's_ why the place was deserted!

The dude that most probably goes by the name 'Kazuki' raised his eyebrows. From the way he looked, he must be a dumb fellow.

Baldy punched the back of Dumby's head hard, sneering at him. "You really are dumb, aren't ya?"

Dumby huffed and stared ahead of him darkly. "Whatcha talkin' 'bout? I DID scared them dudes away and they scurried off like mice!"

"ALL of them?"

"Yeah! ALL of 'em!"

"Oh?" Tall Dude shot him a doubtful look them and then set his sights on An, who had walked up to them, stomping her feet angrily in the process.

Sakuno trailed behind her with a worried look.

"Excuse me," An bravely interjected their seemingly stupid conversation, "do you bullies ever KNOW the meaning of RESPECT?!"

"Now what's this chick talking about?" Baldy asked one of them. He received a shrug as a response.

An grit her teeth impatiently and yelled, "I'LL tell YOU what I'm talking about! How DARE you lowly scoundrels scare the guys away and strut your stuff here like some almighty genii, when it's too damn obvious you shooed them off because you're all afraid to get your butts get beaten to a pulp by someone not among you who's better at tennis—"

She raised her hand which fisted the handle of her tennis racquet tightly, only to have it gripped even more tightly by the tall dude. The rude fellow glared at the struggling girl and hissed, "Now look here, chick. It ain't any business of yours what we do, and if you REALLY think you can go against the _four _of us _right now_, I'll make you badly regret ever thinking that."

Sakuno gulped, terrified, but had somehow managed to speak, "A-An-chan!!!"

Upon noticing her existence, Baldy shot her a disgustingly amused smirk, and walked to her like a predator approaching its meal. "Say what, girlie?"

"S-Sakuno!" An yelled in panic. She was desperately trying to break free from the tall guy's iron grip even more, looking over her shoulder with an unforgiving expression plastered across her features. These big bullies can bully Tachibana An, that'd be _almost_ okay since An had gotten herself into her current predicament and should thus try to bail out of it herself, but trying to hurt the uninvolved Sakuno or _even_ laying the tip of one's pinky finger on her menacingly is **never** allowed. Ever.

"S-Stop! Don't you dare go near her!!!"

No one listened to her.

Sakuno was frozen at the spot, hugging her own racquet tightly, and was trembling uncontrollably. Looking right at the bald guy's sinister bully expression was something Sakuno had never, not once in her life, been fond of. It only made her feel one thing, one emotion—one feeling that she had dreaded since the time she had started schooling years and year ago.

Fear.

Pictures of her childhood days flashed through her mind's eye.

_Boys and girls gathered around her._

_**Bullies picking on her.**_

_Boys and girls were all laughing at her._

_**They were pulling her ever-present braids hard.**_

_Jealous little girls holding pairs of scissors, staring hatefully at the smooth locks of hair her parents and grandmother had always adored._

_**They were mercilessly giving her an untidy haircut.**_

_Little Sakuno coming home, her grandmother asking her why she cut her hair._

_**She was crying**_

Tears started to well up the corners of her eyes. The trauma was still there.

And then—

"_Sakuno, just because the others don't like your braids doesn't mean you should heed their word and stop wearing them. I find your hair cute that way. Brown hair is one of the most noticeable things we have in common."_

"_Okaa-san…"_

Okaa-san had wanted her to continue braiding her hair.

It's not like she had been given no other choice, yet she felt she should submit to okaa-san's wish…

…because okaa-san wanted her to stand up against those who oppose her.

That was what her okaa-san wanted.

What her _deceased_ okaa-san wanted.

**To stand up against those who oppose her.**

Though still in a frightened stupor, her grip on her racquet tightened. Both her hands then involuntarily held unto the handle, raised her tennis racquet, and with her eyes closed she forcefully slammed its netted surface against Baldy's nose._ Hard._

"GAH!!!"

"Konzaryu!" The others exclaimed in surprise as Baldy, who seemed to bear the name 'Konzaryu' (…weird name…), landed with his tooshie on the ground and clutched his broken nose in pain, wailing incoherent curses all the while.

While Tall Dude's attention was centered on Baldy at the moment, An quickly jerked her wrist away from said dude's grasp. Tall Dude seemed to snap out of his momentary daze and turned his attention back to the girl who broke free, and just as he was about reach out to grab her neck, An raised her knee and hit him _where it hurts the most._

"Ow!" Tall Dude hunched over weakly, clutching at the area where his manhood was probably located. In that state, it looks like he won't be able to stand up properly for quite a while. Good.

"Hokuga!" bellowed one who was seemingly the shortest out of bullies. He then cast a vengeful glare at An, who returned it with the same intensity, if not even more. While they were about to smack the other using racquets, Dumby closed in on Sakuno, who was still stuck in a daze. He looked like he planned to do to Sakuno the same thing she did to Baldy, with his racquet raised inches above the shocked girl, and at the same time, Shorty was also about to throw his racquet at An's face…

…when two tennis balls speedily flew their way out of nowhere, a loud 'WHAM' effectively hitting Dumby and Shorty's racquets off their grasps.

"Oi! What the HELL are you doing to An-chan?!"

An spotted two racquet-wielding boys standing a few meters away from them. Realizing who they were, she exclaimed, "Akira-kun!"

"It's rude to hit a girl, you know, and with a racquet no less... Though it isn't a written law, tennis etiquette according to many people states that using it for violence is not allowed… What a disgrace… and you call yourselves tennis players… you should get banned… Care to explain us why you guys are doing such things to An-chan and Sakuno-san? Because there are times when we know that we cannot forgive, no matter how many times we hear an apology… and no matter how sincere that apology seems…"

"Shinji-kun!"

Sakuno, regaining her normal senses, snapped her head around to look at the newcomers. "Kamio-san? Ibu-san?"

It didn't take the bullies another monotonous sermon from Shinji or an irritated bark from Kamio, for they immediately scrambled away in fear, Dumby helping Tall Dude up and Shorty giving Baldy a piggy back (believe it, he _was_ able to do so, thanks to that thing we all call adrenaline rush).

Kamio Akira stared mockingly at the four guys' retreating backs. "Tch. Bullies. The nerve of them."

He and Ibu then rushed towards where the girls were standing. An wiped her brow with the sleeve of her summer uniform as she and Sakuno sighed at the same time.

"An-chan! Are you okay? Those good for nothing bullies didn't hurt you, did they? They didn't try—"

"Yeah, I'm okay. I'm not hurt. Don't worry," An assured Kamio, then glanced at her young friend. "Sakuno, are you okay? You looked so scared back there."

Sakuno slightly shifted from her spot. "H-Hai… I'm fine now. Arigatou, Ibu-san, Kamio-san."

"Not a problem, Sakuno-san," said Shinji, and as expected, he rambled on. "Luck had it that we didn't have afternoon practice today, then Akira and I were walking around when we decided to play at the public courts, and it was really weird that the usual guys here aren't around, then we found you two being outnumbered by the bullies…"

Sakuno sweat-dropped.

"Er—yeah, right. Shinji-kun." An tried stopping her schoolmate's rambling, and thank God it worked. "Sakuno-chan and I were also planning to play, but then we were interfered by those nutheads…"

"That so?" Kamio asked. "Since there're four of us, let's play doubles instead!"

An blinked. "Eh?"

"Doubles is okay for me, An-chan." Sakuno told her.

Shinji nodded with a "Yes, it's quite okay for me too."

"Mou… but I don't feel like it anymore!" An threw her hands in the air, obviously annoyed at how she lost her tennis groove because of what had happened earlier. Sakuno just sighed, while Kamio and Shinji looked very much confused. An crossed her arms and wore the thinking face, and seemingly it was her turn to do the rambling. "We were just going to enjoy the rest of the day playing tennis and having girl moments… and now it came down to this… and I'm not anymore in the mood to play tennis or _even _watch _Goong_ today, which is always impossible, but now it's happening, therefore it's very bad… I might as well have to ask someone to have it on tape for me—Ah! I know! Since it's a _very_ sunny day, I need some ice cream! Yeah, that's it! Ice cream! That's what I need! Ice cream! Hurrah!" Much to the boys' bewilderment, she was cheering in victory to herself and suddenly turned to talk to Sakuno.

"Sakuno-chan, since we won't be playing tennis anymore, why don't we have some ice cream, neh? You can't say no to strawberry sundae, can you?"

The only one among them who was from Seigaku smiled. Of course she can't. "Ah… all right, An-chan."

The two girls put their racquets away quite swiftly (must be the power of ice cream, or the thought of it), and when they were done, Kamio suggested that he and Shinji accompany the girls this time.

Having witnessed what has ensued with An and Sakuno earlier, they were bound to make sure that they see to their safety. An was their buchou's little sister, and Sakuno was the granddaughter of the Seigaku tennis team's coach, who they heard from a number of sources to be quite scary especially when angry. Leaving the two sweet girls alone would mean they get a beating/scolding/torturing not only from Tachibana Kippei and Ryuzaki Sumire, but also from the rest of the Fudomine regulars AND the Seigaku regulars PLUS Osakada Tomoka as well.

(They remembered Osakada-san, all right. Sakuno-san's best friend had temper even more dangerous than that of An, who was actually a really sweet girl that just goes crazy at a certain time every month to begin with.)

Just imagine the pretty sight they'll be if a pervert jumps right at the girls, screams "Wah! Am gonna SUCK yer BLOOOOOOOOOOD, bwahahaha!1!1!" and harasses them—God forbid!—without two strong men around. Strong men being Kamio Akira and Ibu Shinji, obviously. (And yeah, their use of n00b language was deliberate, so don't bother.)

So, back to where we were!

"OH! Good idea, Kamio-kun!" ejaculated An with a grin.

Kamio mentally gave himself a pat on the back for a job well done, and by job, meaning making An-chan grin. Heck, his inner self was grinning so idiotically at the small deed he has accomplished that he might as well be classified as 'Crazy'… yes, better Crazy, than that stupid Momoshiro Takeshi whom we all know (or rather, 'whom only Kamio knows') to be at 'Idiot' level. The redhead did a mental tribal dance of victory and even yelled WOOT for once (also mentally, of course; mind the IMAGE, dude).

Add in Sakuno and Shinji's solemn approval of his good idea, then that's WOOT raised to the THIRD power. He's definitely on his rhythm. OH YEAH.

"So it's a double date then!" An chirped happily.

Kamio looked proud of himself. "Yeah, it's a double da—D-D-D-DOUBLE DATE?????????!!!!!!!!!!"

"Yep! Double date!" An chirped happily. Too happily. "As in I go with you, Sakuno-chan go with Shinji-kun—"

"B-B-But An-chan!" Kamio stuttered. And yes, he was blushing. A date with An-chan… well, a double date actually, but it was still a date. ZOMG, how can he possibly take it? Kami-sama HOW?!

"Yosh! Let's go, Sakuno-chan! Shinji-kun! Akira-kun!" An chirped happily. Too happily. Again.

"But An-chan—" Kamio was cut off by An, who pouted at him.

"Aw, why do you look like you're against it? And it was YOUR idea anyway."

"MY idea?!"

Shinji nodded his head. "Correct. You suggested it, Akira."

Sakuno nodded her head as well.

Kamio was still blushing uncontrollably. HIS idea? The word 'double date' didn't even cross his mind!

Much to his horror, An broke into a creepy grin. Nothing, let her reiterate, NOTHING shall once again spoil Tachibana An's holy mood for the day.

"O-KEH! To the ice cream parlor!!!"

And the four middle school students walked happily together… well, except for one, who looked so red and flushed he might even faint in the middle of the road at any minute. Feeling completely defeated, Kamio whispered gloomily so only Sakuno could hear, "Why does An-chan seem particularly evil today?"

Sakuno giggled, looking at her female friend who was skipping on their way to the ice cream parlor. Brightly, she answered the redhead's question.

"It's the time of the month where females are known to be PMSing, Kamio-san."

Oh. That. He should have known.

Females are scary. They can even scare his rhythm off.

Speaking of which, where did his rhythm go anyway?

* * *

After three whole hours of productive practice for the Nationals, the Seigaku regulars of the boys' tennis club were now allowed to go home. 

"Gah! Finally! We can go home!" exclaimed a hyper Kikumaru loudly. He had finished changing ahead and was now on his own school uniform. "It's a good thing that the rain stopped too; I didn't bring an umbrella!"

Oishi smiled at his doubles partner while putting his stuff away. "You don't look like you're tired, Eiji."

That earned him his friend's usual cat-like grin. "Hehe, looks like I've conquered my stamina problems nyah?"

"Yeah. Certainly does look like it," said Oishi cheerfully. The Seigaku team fukubuchou glanced outside their club room window. He can see Ryuzaki-sensei talking quietly to a serious Tezuka, who seemed to stick to every word she was saying, just as what you'd expect from him. The other regulars were still changing in the club room, minus Momoshiro who was already waiting outside and Echizen who was now walking towards the dunk master.

"You know, I noticed that today's practice seemed more peaceful than the other days," Eiji was still rambling to Oishi and himself as well, "there weren't much people watching and it looks as if the spies from other regions had ceased to exist—well, in our school anyway. But I really do wonder…" the acrobat trailed off in a genuinely wondering tone, only this time loud enough for a certain someone to hear.

"Ja neh, senpai-tachi…"

"…where Ryuzaki-chan had gone to."

The freshman with the cap halted for only almost a quarter of a full second, but this did not get away from Kikumaru's keen eyesight, and nor did it escape Inui's and Fuji's too.

Eiji's grin grew. _'Gotcha.'_

Fuji's smile widened. _'Oh?'_

Inui's eyes gleamed. _'Ii data.'_

Echizen, who was looking cool on the outside but was practically raving like a lunatic on the inside, merely ignored his senpai's teasing and approached Momo-senpai casually. Well, he WAS Echizen Ryoma. (_'Besides, I should avoid OOC—oh screw this…' _he thought.)

"Eiji? Is something wrong?" asked a concerned Oishi.

"Huh?" Eiji tried to suppress his evil grin and look innocent, looking at his partner with a hand scratching the back of his head for added convincing effect akin to clueless-ness. "Nyah, I'm fine, Oishi. Nothing to worry about!"

The effect worked, since Oishi heaved a great sigh of relief. "Whew. You suddenly stopped with what you're saying back there, I was worried what happened to you."

This relieved feeling he felt was immediately switched to alarm, however, when Oishi heard their aged coach yell in panic from a distance.

"Kuso, she's not answering!"

All the regulars, finished with changing, quickly came out of the club room and circled around Ryuzaki-sensei, who had her cell phone against her ear. She was panicking and muttering a string of colorful words under her breath and her thumb, which was hovering above the keypad, was violently shaking.

The team captain remained calm amidst all the panic the other regulars were feeling around their coach, and when he spoke, his voice matched his calmness perfectly.

"How is it, Ryuzaki-sensei?"

The old woman paced back and forth, shaking visibly in utmost worry as she said, "I called her cell phone and our telephone at home several times, but all calls were unanswered."

"What's going on?" inquired Fuji. Seeing their coach in such a state gave him a vague idea of what was going on, but he had to verify his hunch to be sure.

"From the 'her' Ryuzaki-sensei had talked of," began Inui, adjusting the bridge of his glasses that is, of course, known to be quite the genius' mannerism, "there is a seventy-seven percent probability that she's referring to Ryuzaki-chan, who had left school right after classes ended—that was three hours ago—and had therefore missed watching our practice, contrary to what she usually does."

"Nani? Ryuzaki-chan is…?" Oishi's mother mode flared upon hearing this. He turned to their coach who couldn't stay put, and he got the feeling that after a short span of a few seconds, he like their sensei can't stay put either. "Ryuzaki-sensei, where is Ryuzaki-chan?"

"No idea," her reply was at a half-firm yet half-shaking tone. "Like what Inui said, she left school early because her friend Tachibana An wanted to hang out with her or something. I made sure Sakuno brought her cell phone so I can contact her just in case. She knows very well that her curfew is six PM sharp. No one answered the phone at home—that means she isn't home yet, and it's already past six. But her cell phone, I can't contact… ugh, damn it! This hasn't happened with Tomoka before!"

Momoshiro stared at her disbelievingly. "Tachibana's little sister? But she doesn't look like irresponsible to me!"

Tezuka shot him a hard, reprimanding look. "That kind of opinion from you doesn't matter, Momoshiro."

"Er—gomen…" The second year nodded his head stiffly. Behind him, he heard a low 'Fssh' from Kaidoh; somewhere amongst his cerebral convolutions he wanted to ask his rival if that had been a mocking gesture, but chose not to. It would be unwise for them to bicker if the tension around them was _this_ heavy, plus Kaidoh looked like he was just as worried as _he_ was well.

"What's done is done," Fuji spoke calmly, "more importantly, we should find out where our kohai is."

"But where should we start looking? We have no idea nyah! Who knows, maybe some kidnapper took her or worse if—" said Eiji in notable carelessness, but he was cut off immediately; the silent yet alarming glares he received from the other regulars prevented him from sharing his speculations out loud any further.

Kawamura pat his shoulder in an attempt to comfort the worried acrobat, determination etched across his currently gentle demeanor. "I think there's no reason to look all hopeless now, Eiji. Ryuzaki-chan is our kohai, it's our responsibility—that, we know. But there are _nine_ of us here that can help Ryuzaki-sensei look for Ryuzaki-chan, right?"

"Ah… ahie… sou dayo, Taka-san…"

"Well, some taciturn being here doesn't seem all panicky…" Momoshiro muttered grimly. He whacked his palm on the white cap of the person standing beside him. "Any ideas, Echizen?"

Ryoma inwardly cursed his luck; noticing that his senpai-tachi and their coach looked expectantly at him made him secretly want to blame the shy girl who had wondered off to god-knows-where. _Want_, but he knew he _can't, _because it's not Ryuzaki's fault she doesn't know martial arts or defensive measures or something. And she's twelve, just as old as him, except he tends to act older.

Keeping himself cool and collected, his golden eyes looked up at the others.

"Ryuzaki-sensei should probably go home ahead; she needs to rest."

Silence.

They stared at him with incredulous faces; some just widened their eyes, some had their mouths agape—but still incredulous all the same. What on earth had he eaten for lunch? He was sending the person who was most concerned _home?_

Just as the coach opened her mouth to argue against the tennis prince's suggestion, Ryoma continued to speak, this time with a small smirk.

"Senpai-tachi and I will do the search."

Everyone was silent for a while… then Momoshiro and Kikumaru exchanged knowing grins.

Ryoma sure _was_ worried, all right.

* * *

Okay, so remember Sakuno's mind saying that 'today was definitely a good day'? 

Truth be told, it wasn't a perfectly good one.

But before anything else, let's have a recap, shall we?

The trip to the ice cream parlor was mighty nice, actually. The boys, Shinji and Akira, were walking along the sidewalk in their summer uniform glory; as two of the regulars of Fudomine, which was a school known even to fans from the other side of the country due to their reputation in the junior school tennis world AND undeniably heartwarming tear-jerking team history, they had earned such admiring gazes from the unnamed people they passed by. Girls of unknown species were waving at them exuberantly, calling their attention and all that, to which Kamio only sweat-dropped and Ibu only rambled about.

Even the fanboys who had finally made their presence known blew THEM kisses. Not at An OR Sakuno, but THEM.

While the guys were stuffed with love and crap, the girls were stuffed with glares and hisses.

It was a good thing that neither An nor Sakuno seemed to mind, though. They were good at ignoring... a good ten from a one to ten scale at that.

(How could that be, you ask? Hmm… let's say An saw a bunny hop by and Sakuno got a good horoscope from her fortune cookie. Vague, yes, but that's not the point. The main point IS, they just talked, giggled and let the world spin on its safely tilting axis for there was still tomorrow.)

Then, as they ate sherbet at their own table at the ice cream parlor, a girl from Mars—er, from _another school_ had walked up to their table and suddenly declared war against the two girls. (Whoa. Shocking.) An had tried to whack the stranger up the head to shut her up with her Fudomine regulars fantasy, but not before the bitch pulled one of Sakuno's braids hard—hell broke loose from there on; even Sakuno's mental PMS detector was beeping madly amidst all the ruckus and bickering, and it wasn't long before the manager of the ice cream parlor revealed his identity and sent them out of his business establishment.

Kamio had tried to console the Tachibana sibling that was pissed off to the max. It didn't seem to work at all; nevertheless, it didn't matter, for An had suddenly reverted back to happy mode and dragged them to the nearest arcade. There, Kamio seemed to have relaxed a bit and had managed to control his blushing; he was supposed to, anyway. He and Ibu were busy playing _The House Of The Dead III_ and were too engrossed with the game ("DIE I TELL YOU DIE, YOU DEAD ZOMBIES!" "I don't think it makes sense to kill dead people… I mean, they're already dead… but they're trying to attack civilians so blah blah…") that the two girls had decided to leave them alone and play DDR instead. But a humongous crowd had gathered around the DDR machine, so the small girls weren't able to do so. Sakuno had then suggested that they smash some crocodile heads instead, as a vent for frustration, and An had all too willingly obliged.

After the arcade escapade, they dropped by their favorite tennis shop to check on some new tennis gear (and in Shinji's case, to buy new rubber sports shoes). The visit should've been short; however, Shinji was torn between two brands of his choice and had a hard time deciding, therefore delaying their stay. Whenever he had decided on Adidas, he keeps on enumerating features and benefits of the other brand; and whenever his mind is set on Nike, he looks back at Adidas and has second (or third) thoughts. He had asked for help from the other three, who teamed up and unanimously pointed at the Mizuno-branded set instead.

In the end, after a whole hour, Shinji had finally decided to save his money and buy shoes some other time.

All that patient wait for nothing. Nuh-huh.

It was when they had gotten outside the shop did Sakuno's cell phone turn off due to low battery, much to the little girl's dismay. She asked her Fudomine friends if they had brought their phones so she could contact her grandmother beforehand, but unfortunately they had none in hand. An forgot to bring hers because she was in a hurry that morning; and Tachibana Kippei seemed to have asked a special favor of not bringing cell phones from the Fudomine regulars, since phone calls have disrupted their practices way too many times already.

Then at half past five, just when Sakuno decided to go home, it rained. And they had no umbrella.

The girl was now worried to death. If she didn't call her obaa-san, her obaa-san will worry about her, maybe even send police to look for her if she did not inform her of her whereabouts soon. Sakuno didn't like it when people worry about her, but somehow things always didn't seem to go her way. It was a tad too frustrating for someone who was already out of grade school, really.

She was even too darn pleased when the paper from her fortune cookie told her that "You will know that you are loved by many today" or some sort.

That thing was lying!

Not that it was the only thing she was holding on to…

Soon she knew that the heavy rain didn't prove as much of a let down on her part, and an unknown form of something akin to relief, but not quite it, surged through her unsettling chest when An had declared that their house was only a few blocks away, and that they can do a mad run for it and stay at the Tachibana's place until the rain stops.

And so they did. They charged full speed ahead and reached their destination in no time. Immediately, An called out to her brother.

"Hurry and come in, you're all wet," was what Kippei said when he opened the gate for them to enter.

A bark from Gokutora welcomed them as soon as they settled under the household roof. Kippei brought them towels to dry up, and since it was almost six PM, he even invited Sakuno, Shinji and Akira to join them for dinner, at which An was also happy about. She found it a really great idea too; their parents were out of town for a month now, and having more than two people eat at their dining table for a change would be very nice.

Sakuno gratefully accepted the Tachibana siblings' invitation, not noticing that the rain had chosen to stop fifteen minutes before her curfew started (yes, she's in big trouble, all right). Then, as an idea popped out of nowhere, she timidly asked An if she could use their phone to call home. An brightly gave her permission to use it…

…and that brings us to the present.

"Mou, no one's answering…"

The other line continued ringing. Still, no one answered. Aw man, the situation really proved it was bad that she still hadn't memorized her obaa-san's cell number yet. It didn't make her feel any better.

She dialed the number many times, again and again; yet all her calls remain unanswered.

Sakuno bit her lip tightly.

What should she do now?

* * *

Sumire sat on their living room couch, quietly sipping tea to calm her senses. "Aah… arigatou, Tezuka. You shouldn't have bothered." 

The tall buchou nodded wordlessly at her gratitude. While the regulars continued searching for the coach's granddaughter at places he didn't know of, he had decided to drop by the Ryuzaki household to make sure that their coach doesn't do anything that might cause her a breakdown. Ryuzaki-sensei, though still fully capable of playing sports at an old age and being a mother to Sakuno at the same time, was still a grandmother, a person who's better off staying at home and maybe doing some indoor crafts instead of coaching a tennis team. Though the aged woman looked serene with her eyes closed, he knew that she was trying her best not to scream in frustration right now.

Where had their kohai gone? It had rained earlier, but soon stopped even before the sun had set behind the tall skyscrapers of the city. Surely it wasn't a big enough reason that hindered Sakuno from going home before nighttime…? No matter how he put it, Sakuno should have gotten home before Sumire did. She wasn't the type to go against her grandmother, and she wasn't one who'd make other people worry about her either. That only leaves him to the conclusion that something out of the normal had happened to her.

Don't mistake him for a walking statue null and void of emotions. Despite the stoic face that he's currently wearing, he was quite worried of his kohai. Of course he should be! Even before he had entered Seigaku, Sakuno had also been his kohai back at his elementary years, back at the old days when little Sakuno was still calling him 'Kunimitsu-senpai'. And now he was still her senpai, therefore it was quite the responsibility he carried.

Well, looking out for their coach in her place was also a responsibility.

As the clock ticked a silent countdown to the unknown, the rest of the regulars appeared at the threshold one by one, and as each person entered the living room, Sumire can do nothing but bury her face on her hands upon knowing the news the shaking heads brought her. Not one of them found her.

"Hey, where's Momo?"

Everyone looked around the room after Kawamura's voice had spoken. There was no black-haired spikehead around.

Oishi sighed tiredly, rubbing his temples. "Looks like he's our only hope now."

Their coach slowly stood up. "You boys might be hungry; you can all have dinner here for tonight." Though her voice seemed to lack the usual force and authority that it possessed especially during club practice and official tournaments, she was still able to stand and walk to the kitchen with quite an amount of energy—or maybe what was left of it. "Still gonna be cooked, you'll have to wait."

"Ah—Ryuzaki-sensei!" Eiji bounced his way to her in an instant. "I should help you at the kitchen, nyah!"

"Oh… okay. Arigatou." She managed a small smile, thankful for the help the redhead had offered, and at the same time hopefully clinging to the thought that maybe, any minute now, Momoshiro'd burst through the door, a silly grin on his face, with her little granddaughter standing there with him…

* * *

The dunk master, on the other hand was wondering around the streets that had been lighted up by the lamp posts. 

He was walking with a defeated sigh escaping his mouth, on his way to Ryuzaki-sensei's house.

Then he halted.

He froze on his spot for a good ten seconds—it was such a coincidence that he had stopped right below the bright light of one of the street lamps for dramatic effect—when his foggy mind cleared, his lead-filled chest lifted and his amethyst (choke choke) eyes glistened in sheer, sacred hope.

He pulled his cell phone out from his pocket, flipped it open and dialed a number he had recently gotten.

"Moshi moshi? Tachibana's little sister there…?"

* * *

At this time of all times, when grief and despair still had an evil grasp of their hearts, heaven gave them the ultimate blessing that, had they been younger, might've told them Christmas would be early this year. 

**RRRRRIIIIIIIIING RRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!**

Ryuzaki-sensei (who had her head peering from the kitchen), Oishi, Fuji, Inui, Kikumaru (who also had his head poked out the hallway from the kitchen), Kawamura, Kaidoh and Ryoma all turned their heads at an inhumanely swift speed to Tezuka, who sat nearest to the ringing phone and was already answering the call that came.

"Moshi moshi?" he immediately spoke.

There was brief silence from the other line, then: _"Te-Te-Tezuka-s-s-senp-pai?!?!"_

No doubt—it was her.

"Ryuzaki," he simply said, and to him it felt like an equivalent to a sigh from a breath he didn't know he was holding.

The coach and the other regulars all sighed in relief, but were still trying to get a hold of the conversation over the phone, whatever Tezuka's brief and forward words might mean.

"_T-Tezuka-senpai! An-Anou, please tell obaa-san that I'm s-sorry for not calling her earlier and that I-I'm okay! I'm here at An-chan's house right now!"_

He paused. "At the Tachibana's?"

"_H-Hai!"_

Fuji opened his eyes. "'The Tachibana's'?"

"There is an eighty percent possibility," Inui began to say in a professional tone, "that Ryuzaki-chan is currently staying at Tachibana Kippei's residence, eighty-two point seven percent possibility that Tachibana An had brought her there, and fifty percent possibility that the previous aforementioned statements are true due to the fact that it had rained earlier."

"I see," Fuji's tone was slightly dismissive, but it won't really matter to anyone since he was now sure that, based on Inui's statistics and hypotheses and all that, his cute little kohai was safe. And his smile is back (it actually disappeared when Ryuzaki-sensei was panicking back at school). Rejoice.

"_You see, senpai, we happened to be near their place when it rained. Then Tachibana-san let us stay here until we get dry and he even invited us for dinner, so—um, yeah, I've eaten dinner, so I'll be going home now…"_

"Wait. Who're with you?" he asked, taking note of the 'we' Sakuno's been saying.

"_Uhm… Ibu-san and Kamio-san. They also accompanied An-chan and I when we were out." _Now Sakuno's voice rose to a troubled tone._ " Anou senpai, I'm really sorry if I ever had bothered you! I… I tried calling home but no one answered so obaa-san must be mad at me right now because my cell phone's battery was no more and— ah! I'm really really REALLY sorry—"_

"Sakuno."

There. He had said it. That one word that somewhat told her to 'stop worrying, because I'm glad you're okay.'

Her first name.

The other line went silent for a moment, as Sakuno tried to calm herself down before speaking.

"_Hai, Kunimitsu-senpai?"_

There seemed to be a mutual understanding, it seems. Ah, the power of senpai-kohai relations.

"Say what you must to your grandmother when you get here. May I speak with Tachibana Kippei." It was a command, but it sounded too soft to be one.

"_Hai…"_

When the Fudomine team captain spoke _"Moshi moshi?"_ on the other line, Tezuka asked him to let Kamio Akira and Ibu Shinji 'escort' her back home, if they didn't mind. And knowing that they didn't, brief and polite words were exchanged before Tezuka finally placed the receiver down.

When he looked back up to see the other regulars' faces, his blank face shot them a look that most probably said, 'What?'

The others looked at him in different ways, but collectively he thought that their expressions were odd—too odd, as if saying, 'I'm sorry, I forgot to clean my ears today. You didn't say 'Sakuno' just now, did you?'

He twitched a little, only a very little twitch that can be translated to something along the lines of 'If that's a problem, then perhaps you all feel like doing fifty laps around the house at this instant. Am I right?'

All the rest gave looks that almost seemed to say 'No thank you, buchou. I still have a pet bunny to feed after this; don't you pity the bunny?' or maybe something else that means the same thing, one way or another. And what does a bunny have to do with this? Do they all even OWN one?

"Ehem." Sumire cleared her throat, saying the almighty 'Ehem' that the author was supposed to have said but was unfortunately overtaken and was thus robbed of such golden opportunity. Er, yeah… anyway!

The old coach was about to question her students if they possessed some sort of telepathic ability from their silent conversation that merely covered shooting a variety of looks, which she didn't understand at all, but remembered the more important question she was supposed to ask and finally voiced it out. "How's Sakuno, Tezuka?"

The captain immediately cut off the telepathic conversation he was having with his amazing teammates and answered her question. "She's all right. Ryuzaki stayed at the Tachibana house when it rained, and she had already eaten dinner. She's currently on her way here, with Ibu Shinji and Kamio Akira accompanying her."

A huge group sigh filled the air.

"Thank God," said Sumire.

"That's good to hear," said Oishi.

"Demo sa," said Eiji, while he was cuddling a frowning Ryoma from the whole group sigh thing, "why are Ibu and Kamio with her?"

He did not receive a response, since everyone—everyone except Tezuke, Fuji and Inui—practically jumped in shock when a loud **'BLAG!'** shattered their cool and the door opened to reveal a bellowing entity whose parents had named Momoshiro Takeshi. The **'BLAG!'** was _so_ loud; even Sumire secretly whined in sorrow at the prospect of their door being almost blown off its hinges… but nobody needs to know that.

"Hey guys, senpai-tachi, sensei!" Peach Guy (okay, let's say that he's the privileged male version of Peach Girl) jumped up and down as he yelled, "I know where Ryuzaki-chan is! I know, all right, I know!"

"Urasai, baka," came Kaidoh's hissing voice. "You're too loud, and we already know where Ryuzaki is too."

**BOOM ZZZZT SSSSHHH POW POW. **"NAAAAAAAAAANI?! WHADDYA SAY?! WHY YOU MAMUSHI—" After all that thunder and lightning effects, Momo paused, realizing what his rival had said. "Huh?"

"We already know where Ryuzaki is, senpai," said Ryoma coolly. He finally has a line. YEAH.

"Where have you been anyway, nyah?" asked the acrobat, obviously irritated. He was still sore that he didn't get any answer from his previous question, and after Momo's dynamic entrance, everyone seemed to have forgotten the brilliant question he had asked. Ouch.

"I—er, I called Tachibana's little sister," Peach guy said in a somewhat bashful manner, "and she gave me answers."

Silence reigned over them for a long span of time…

…and then Hallelujah sang in their heads when they heard the gates of the Ryuzaki household open.

A small voice sounded right from outside._ "Arigatou, Kamio-san, Ibu-san."_

Small footsteps were heard… incoming… five, four, three, two, one…

**KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.**

The door flew open, and the unsuspecting little Sakuno was greeted with loud cheers of "WELCOME HOME!!!"

"S-S-Senpai-tachi? R-Ryoma-kun?"

* * *

When she called home only to hear Kunimitsu-senpai's voice over the phone instead of her obaa-san's minutes ago, she was shocked. 

But that was nothing compared to THIS!

Seeing all the Seigaku regulars standing before her at their living room not only shocked her to the second power, but also intensified her guilt as well. The guys of the school tennis club right here, right now sent Sakuno an automatic signal that she perceived as 'They Were All Worried About Her and Therefore Had To Go Home Late Tonight' with much certainty.

"Sakuno! You little girl!" her obaa-san tackled her with a hug. "You made me worry like hell!"

'_Obaa-san…'__**Three.**_

"Ryuzaki-chan! You're okay! I couldn't stop worrying back then nyah!"

'_Kikumaru-senpai…'__**Four.**_

"We wouldn't know what to do if something happened to you."

'_Oishi-senpai…'__**Five.**_

"Don't make us worry like that again."

'_Kaidoh-senpai…' __**Six.**_

"At least you got back safely, Ryuzaki-chan! Whew!"

'_Momo-senpai…' __**Seven.**_

"Next time make sure you tell us where you're going, okay?"

'_Kawamura-senpai…' __**Eight.**_

"Ryuzaki-chan, I think it best if you check everything—from your cell phone to weather conditions—beforehand. I may help you with that."

'_Inui-senpai…' __**Nine.**_

"Glad you're all okay, Sakuno-chan."

'_Syusuke-senpai…' __**Ten.**_

"You let your guard down, Ryuzaki. Make sure never to do that again."

'_Kunimitsu-senpai…' __**Eleven.**_

Sakuno looked behind the tall figures that were huddled around her, finding Echizen Ryoma looking at her with his usual passive look.

'_Ryoma-kun…'_

A part of her was somehow saddened upon seeing him—that, she couldn't deny; but what else would she expect? Ryoma was anything that can define calm and collected, and wearing a worried look towards her like how her obaa-san and senpai-tachi are doing now doesn't fall on that category. The tennis prince has even managed to be her racquet-wielding knight too many times, all of which were circumstances where she had carelessly put herself in deep trouble, and he had just rushed in to play hero without anybody forcing him.

"Now Sakuno, you'll have to explain yourself later, rest upstairs or do your homework; Tezuka told us you've had dinner at the Tachibana's already," said her obaa-san, walking back to the kitchen with Kikumaru and Oishi helping her set the table.

"Hai…" replying obediently, the little girl took her shoes off and made her way to the stairs. Her senpai-tachi, all looking completely relaxed now that she'd come home, were gathered at the living room; they were chatting idly among themselves, with the exception of Momoshiro and Fuji, who both sat in front of the TV set and seemingly found _Family Guy _quite interesting. (Well, it _is_. Hehe.)

'_Why am I bothered about Ryoma-kun…?'_

* * *

After changing into her home clothes, she plopped down her soft bed, all feelings of exhaustion taking its toll on her. 

Sakuno managed a small smile when she glanced at the framed photos that sat on her bedside table. Her eyes gazed contentedly at the picture that sat beneath her lamp shade; her inanimate self was there, smiling childishly back at her, with Oishi-senpai and Syusuke-senpai smiling at either side of her little form. Tezuka-senpai was standing behind her there, towering a good sixteen inches over her small height. His usual hard expression was present, but strangely, his unsmiling face didn't bother Sakuno. Her smile widened—it was the picture they had taken at the studio the other day.

Beside the photograph was another framed one. It was a mini-portrait of one person—the woman smiled gently, her dark auburn hair contrasting her pale face, just like how Sakuno's did.

"Okaa-san," Sakuno spoke softly at the photograph, "Eleven people worried about me today. I guess I really can't change, can I?"

The silence followed; the girl's eyes still never left her mother's face. "You know, okaa-san, Ryoma-kun didn't look worried at all. I know I should be a little happy that I didn't trouble him, but somehow… seeing no reaction from him made me so disappointed. Like he doesn't care…"

She stood up and made her way to her door to go downstairs; she must at least wash the dishes for her obaa-san, all the trouble she had caused might've worn her out… and she can keep herself busy too.

'_Oh... I'm so selfish, am I not…? So what if he doesn't care…?'_

Her inner conflict continued and made her so deep in thought, she didn't even realize that she was already at the foot of the stairs when she felt an all too familiar presence linger right in front of her.

"Ryuzaki?"

She looked at him, her blush automatically activating. "R-Ryoma-kun?"

His gaze was cool and unwavering, as opposed to hers.

"Hn… watch your step; you might've tripped back up there, you know."

Just that—then he walked away, joining the rest of the regulars at the dining room.

…

Sakuno remained standing there, watching his back with wide eyes.

…

An overwhelming feeling swept through her; it was so much that she can't help but smile.

Sounds from the crowded dining room passed through her ears, but she wasn't disturbed. She felt happy, possibly the happiest she had been the whole day. It, that one sentence from the tennis prince, was enough to lift her spirits and change her introspection about said boy.

Even if he had implied something different, Sakuno knew from her heart that—

'_Ryoma-kun is a kind person. He cares after all.'_

TBC

* * *

**NOTES:**

_Goong_ – Korean drama based on a manwah (Korean comics), also known as _'Princess Hours'_ (though I haven't watch all episodes).  
_The House Of The Dead_ – at the arcade, it's a booth where you get to shoot zombies using provided guns attached. There's also the PC version game for it.  
_Gokutora_ – the dog at the Tachibana house.

* * *

**A/N:** HAHA! APPROXIMATELY 10,000 WORDS OF RANDOMNESS FOR ALL OF YOU! (Actually, I'm having PMS right now, so I apologize if my writing style for this one was quite stormy). In the end, I made the Seigaku regulars take the stage (I'm evil) and even placed a bit of TezuSaku here and RyoSaku there. This chapter was quite messy—there's humor, then all of a sudden it gets serious, just like my mood—so maybe sometime, if I have time, I'll go back and revise this. But really, I'd rather just move on and do the next chapter instead...

SO, NEXT UP: **Rikkai Dai** in the house! I wonder what insanity can possibly ensue…?

Thanks for reading! Please review! And no, I don't accept flames. Never. ESPECIALLY on PMSing season.

-Meowzie  
06.10.07


	4. Rikkaidai: In Their OOCness

06.27.07  
**A/N: **I started making this back at July 27 and ended up finishing at October 13. I'm so sorry for the very late update! I have been on hiatus for months since I wanted to fully concentrate on the first semester of my freshman year. But now that it's sembreak, I took the chance of finishing this chapter! So because of the many months I haven't been writing this chapter, I may have forgotten some details (this isn't proofread), which explains any discrepancies between the beginning and end parts of this chapter.

Oh yeah, thanks for reviewing the previous chapter, guys!

Another note… the fact that Sakuno is cute resulted to some bit of whacky OOCness here, so… (hides)

**DISCLAIMER: **Takeshi Konomi owns the manga and its characters.

* * *

**Auburn Legend**  
© Doctor Meowzie

* * *

**FOUR**  
Rikkai Dai: In Their Unforeseen OOCness They Declare War

** -  
-  
-**

"Rikkai Dai?"

Sakuno glanced at her grandmother from her spot in front of the kitchen sink. While she took the job of cutting carrots to cook for dinner, her grandmother stood before the opened refrigerator, picking out some raw food they're going to cook. With the knife held in suspension above the carrots, the young girl watched her grandmother close the fridge and place the cold steak on a plate at their table. Sakuno looked at her grandmother when the old woman answered.

"Hai. Sakaki, Hanamura-sensai and I agreed to do some daily proctoring on different schools of the top tennis teams of the region while teams are practicing, to see how they are doing, and probably help us develop some strategic training program that might help aspiring tennis novices. And we're not spying, rest assured. We'll start with Rikkai Dai—we are going to pay them a visit tomorrow. I'm afraid you'll have to go home without me."

"It's okay, Obaa-san," Sakuno resumed cutting the carrots into flower-like shapes. "I can go home alone."

Sumire looked at her granddaughter and sighed. Because of the trouble that happened last week, the coach, with the full approval of the Seigaku regulars, swore never to let Sakuno go off on her own, without Sumire or the boys or Tomoka as company. Not until she reaches high school, anyway. Until then, whether she brings a full battery-powered cell phone or umbrella with her or not, Sakuno would not be allowed to go against their rule.

The girl had felt heavily depressed upon hearing this and said nothing, only nodding her head to say she obliged. It _was_ her fault anyway, even if she didn't mean to. (Well, actually it had been partly the rain's fault. Puhleez, don't go about placing voluminous burdens on her small shoulders; okay, author?)

"You know I can't allow that, Sakuno," said Sumire in a firm voice, slightly chiding her for forgetting her 'punishment'. "I'll just have to ask at least one of the boys to go with you. Maybe Ryoma, since he takes almost the same route as you when going home…"

Sakuno blushed at this, hastily finishing the last of the carrots before placing them in a small bowl and opening the faucet to wash the chopping board. She tried to keep herself from thinking more about the tennis prince before speaking, "R-Ryoma-kun and senpai-tachi will be very busy, Obaa-san! The nationals are fast approaching a-and I don't want to be any more of a h-hindrance…"

A brief pause, before she heard her obaa-san sigh once again. "I guess so… but we can't leave you alone; and as much as our triumph in the upcoming Nationals is of high priority and significance, so is your safety, my child."

The twin-braided girl noted the way her elder's face wrinkled even more deeply, feeling guilty at having to be such a cute, clumsy and klutzy little girl who's a trouble magnet and a sucker at directions at the same time. Those, buddy, are two of the most vital things one who wished to die early should possess. The thing is, Sakuno still wanted to see herself in the future, and should therefore continue to breathe for as long as the time until her hair turns white, or even longer.

Her features perked up suddenly.

'_Well, I hope this helps…'_

Wishing for enlightenment to grace her grandmother's mood, she looked at Sumire and timidly suggested, "Anou… would it be okay if I go with obaa-san instead?"

Sumire stared at the little girl in a pink apron. (Yes, she's wearing an apron. A pink one. Sakuno, you cute girl XD)

"Well, Sakuno… would _you _mind coming with me to Rikkai Dai tomorrow?" she asked.

"No, I don't mind, obaa-san," answered Sakuno lightly, now starting to boil water at the stove. "If it's okay… uhm, I don't want obaa-san, Tomo-chan or senpai-tachi to worry about me, and I don't want to cause them trouble, so…"

A hand playfully ruffled her dark head, and Sakuno looked up to see her grandmother's bright grin.

"All right," said Sumire, "It's settled then. You can come. You could even help us—especially Hanamura-sensei—with some note taking, so it's okay."

The aged coach set her hand down to spare her little girl's hair from any more ruffling attacks and walked to the kitchen sink with a happy chuckle, leaving a pouting Sakuno trying to smoothen the top of her head with her small hands. After all that, she smiled contentedly, turning her attention back to the water being boiled at the teapot.

-  
-  
-

The middle of the weekday was just like any other day of the many days spent by the Seigaku junior high students in… well, Seigaku. And believe it or not, seeing a loud person with bright-colored pigtails dash all the way from the tennis courts at one end of the school to the building of the freshmen classrooms at the _other _end of the humongous, and I mean HUMONGOUS campus, was something they already got used to.

"SAKUNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO…!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

The previously unsuspecting but now alarmed Ryuzaki offspring, in the middle of wiping their classroom's glass windows, turned to see her supah-dupah hypah best friend stand before her, hands on hips, grin on face.

She looked at the hyperactive girl. "Uh… Tomo-chan?" It seems that after running all the way up the fourth floor of their building from the tennis courts (Sakuno knew that because EVERYONE knew that) and maybe back again and forth again, Tomoka wasn't panting. As in, WASN'T panting.

"Heeeheee…" Sakuno was even more alarmed. To hear 'hehe' from Tomo-chan was an everyday thing, but to hear 'heeeheee'… well, let's just say it always made Sakuno beg for peace and prosperity to reign over the whole world of TeniPuri.

"Sa-ku-no," Tomoka playfully began, "Guess what, girl?"

Sakuno continued wiping the windows clean. The teacher said they should be Blinding and Sparkling the next day. "What?"

"Ryoma-sama's playing against Tezuka-senpai today!"

"Oh…"

dot dot dot

period period period

dot dot dot

…ting!

"EH…???????!!!!!!!!!!!" came Sakuno's delayed reaction.

"Sou, sou!" Tomoka crossed her arms, rather proud of her declaration, what with her smug face and smug voice and all…

"Ah… o-okay…"

"Yeah, neh?" she still grinned at Sakuno, semi-shouting, "So come on hurry up get that cleaning done and let's GET OUR HEADS IN THE GAME!"

"Uhm… Tomo-chan…?"

"Hm… or rather, let's GET OUR HEADS IN THE MATCH! YEAH! ALL RIGHT! UH-HUUUH, I'M GUUUUUUUUUD…!!!"

Sakuno sighed. Had her attention span been short, Tomoka might have been diagnosed with ADHD. Good thing it wasn't…

The girl with braided hair quickly finished her cleaning assignment and immediately picked up her things, whilst Tomoka was rambling on while waiting for her best friend.

Sakuno came up to her and spoke, "Tomo-chan…"

"Ryoma-sama will win, I know! Ahie, Tezuka-senpai might be a tough one but I know deep inside my inner chambers that Ryoma-sama will win! I mean, come ON, looking back at all those official matches and chapters and episodes Ryoma-sama NEVER lost one SO he's so AMAZING so SUGOI and is therefore the PRINCE OF PWNAGE A.K.A. PWNAGE NO OUJISAMA! He'll be w00ting all over and—huh? What?"

Sakuno took a deep breath, inhaling, and exhaled, before letting out a string of words that she is only able to achieve once in a blue moon.

"I'msorryIcan'twatchtheirmatchTomo-chanIhavetogotoRikkaiDaiwithObaa-sanrightnowI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryTomo-chansoSEEYOUTOMORROW!"

Bowing in apology, she quickly dashed right past Tomoka who was left utterly dumbfounded and speechless.

Tomoka stilled for a few moments more. When she finally moved, she stared at where Sakuno had supposedly disappeared. Her eyes widened in shock.

"OMGZ! Sakuno spoke FAST! Damn, I KNEW I taught her well! I'm not a role model for nothing, hah! And I can even make out the part where she says she has to go to Rikka Dai—"

Freeze.

On the count of three!

One!

Two!

Three!

"RIKKAI DAIIIIIIIIIIII??????????????????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

-  
-  
-

"Visitors are coming over any minute now, so please do your best and play to your heart's content, even if it's only practice time, minna-san."

"Hai, buchou!"

All members of the whole Rikkai Dai Tennis boys' team chorused in eager respect to their newly returned buchou. The lines and columns made up of the several non-regular tennis members stood in front of their team captain, who smiled warmly at them, seemingly happy for spending time with everyone once again. After receiving further minor orders, the straight lines they formed immediately dispersed for them to start practice as usual.

"Waha, practice hard, fellas! You're all gonna be under my command once the next semester starts! Make me proud!"

"Akaya, are you implying that you want us, _your beloved senpai-tachi_, to get our asses moving up to high school right away? Aren't you gonna miss us? Tsk, it makes me so sad…"

The youngest Rikkai regular pouted and shot his senior a 'you don't look sad at all, senpai' look. "Niou-senpai, I'm merely stating that I get to be captain next year." He wanted so much to add 'DUH' and 'I get to be captain and you don't! BLEH!' after that, but since a senpai is a senpai, and a kohai is a kohai, he merely kept his mouth shut.

"Wow, and I thought Akaya was going to say something like 'DUH' there. Hehe, good boy," a voice piped up somewhere behind them.

"Marui-senpai!" the second year semi-screamed in utter but not obvious surprise. GASP, how did senpai know THAT?!

"Eh? Akaya! You look shocked! Did I do something shocking?" Bunta grinned at him, taking out a stick of strawberry pocky and munching on it.

Yummy. Pocky. ♥

Masaharu rolled his eyes. "Apparently, yes."

Hearing that from the silver-haired trickster, Akaya went back to pouting and mentally whining about how authoritative his two senpai-tachi are. Poor him… poor, poor him… But just wait… wait 'til Kirihara Akaya becomes a world famous tennis pro! They're all gonna turn alien green with envy once he kicks all tennis players' tooshie holes and owns! Mwahahaha!!!

The three boys watched the practicing non-regulars in purely evident boredom. Some random dude was swinging his racquet in a wrong fashion, and another one _even_ looked like he was deliberately trying to hit balls over the school's backyard. But the Three Bored Regulars, being soooooo altruistic, merely chose to let Yagyuu Hiroshi and Kuwahara Jackal help them instead.

Yawn yawn… BOH-RING.

"If you three just stop loafing around there, it obviously wouldn't be boring."

Three pairs of bored-looking eyes looked at the senior with perpetually closed eyes. What's with these Data Men anyway? He and that Inui from Seigaku had never shown their eyeballs as far as they can recall, and both have zero intention of doing so too. Are they allergic to sunlight or dust particles or something???

"And what's it all about, Yanagi?"

"I'm merely trying to uplift your current predicament, Marui. Like maybe helping us train our fellow team members to keep from getting bored."

"Pssh, nuff with that blatant reprimanding of yours, pal," Masaharu rolled his eyes for drama and continued, "by the way, you got any idea on who our guests are today?"

"As a matter of fact, yes."

"Oh?" Bunta, Masaharu and Akaya stared at him curiously.

They still didn't look at anywhere else as they waited for Renji to elaborate, but it seemed that he did not have any plans to enlighten them. Just their luck.

Just as Bunta was about to throw the empty box of pocky in his hands at the data man, he was almost shocked out of his jerseys when their fukubuchou barked at them from a few meters' distance.

"Yanagi! Niou! Marui! Kirihara!" Sanada Genichirou motioned the four to join him, their three other teammates and a pack of newly arrived people whose faces were very familiar to them. The four walked in all boredom and the like towards the tall gates of their courts, joining in the conversation that was currently taking place.

-  
-  
-

Upon entering the campus of the famed Rikkai Dai Fuzoku, Sakuno can only gape in amazement. So THIS is what a university looks like!

Students here and there were doing about their usual deeds by self and by group; seeing them clad in white tops with neckties and dark shaded pants and skirts almost made Sakuno want to try attending the university as well. They looked so… how can she describe it? Mature? Proper? At least compared to her uniform—with a pink ribbon on her chest—she felt so out of place.

But then again, she was a Seigaku student by heart.

She followed Hanamura-sensei, Sakaki-sensei and her grandmother as the four made their way towards the school tennis courts, walking through the wide field located between the middle high building and the high school building.

When they arrived at the uber vast tennis courts, they were greeted by two of the Rikkai regulars.

"Welcome to our tennis club, sensei-tachi."

Standing timidly behind her tall grandmother, Sakuno looked up at the owner of the voice. She knit her brows; Sakuno didn't remember a Rikkai regular that smiled so warmly like that, as far as she can recall. Dark hair and lithe masculine build, the young man who greeted them wore the Rikkai tennis club jersey—but Sakuno, who thought she has seen the faces of all the tennis players of the schools her senpai-tachi had already played against, didn't recognize him one bit.

She tilted her head in wonder.

"Ah, Yukimura-kun! It's nice to see you're doing all right!" came Hanamura-sensei's delighted voice.

Sakuno blinked. _'Yukimura?'_

Sakaki nodded at him. "How's the tennis club doing, Yukimura?"

"Doing good, Hanamura-sensei. Genichirou here did a good job playing captain while I was away, though." He gestured to the surly-looking man beside him. He wore a cap—Sakuno recognized him as Sanada Genichirou, the team fukubuchou who Ryoma-kun had played against.

'_So if Sanada-san is the fukubuchou… then that means… Yukimura-san is the buchou, of Tezuka-senpai's level?'_

Sanada respectfully nodded at the adults, and then suddenly his eyes sat on Sakuno.

Sakuno tensed at the stoic stare she received, even if that stoic stare of Sanada's was actually a questioning one.

Yukimura, much to Sakuno's nervousness, also noticed her presence and smiled. "Hello there."

"Ah—h-hello…"

"Oh yeah, this is my granddaughter, Sakuno," said Sumire, smiling down at Sakuno's small frame, "she'll be helping us with some note taking. Anyway, where are the rest of the regulars? A few comments from them might guide us when we go around; you two need not burden yourselves much because of us."

Sanada nodded again and signaled two regulars to come over.

Yagyuu Hiroshi and Kuwahara Jackal approached them a few seconds later, bowing in greeting at the visitors.

The fukubuchou then turned around and called out to four young men clad in yellow hanging around at the other side of the court, one looking very neutral and three looking quite bored.

"Yanagi! Niou! Marui! Kirihara!"

Noticing they were being called, the four young men looked at each other, shrugged simultaneously and made their way towards the spot at the entrance of the court, where Sakuno was standing with three team coaches and four regulars.

-  
-  
-

Renji, Masaharu, Bunta and Akaya stood before the coaches of Seigaku, Hyotei and Jyosei Shonan. They inwardly wondered what they were supposed to do facing the adults, with the exception of Renji, who being a genius and all knew what he should do, but didn't want to do or say anything yet just for the mere heck of it.

Yukimura gave them a look that said, 'Now now, don't be rude boys.'

The red, silver, and black-haired regulars fought back the sarcastic urge to roll their eyes and bowed to the elders in greeting. Their voices obviously bored, as what their monotones obviously suggest, they chorused, "Welcome, sensei-tachi." Renji did the same, just trying to suppress a knowing grin and bowing respectfully unlike the other three.

Words were exchanged from the coaches to the regulars and vice versa, which the three thought of as highly formal for their taste, which was a big no-no for their part. Heck, isn't there anything fun going on? If regulars from the other schools didn't have a boring time as of the moment, they'll be falling behind their era of youthfulness. If it's about having fun, surely the Rikkai dudes Marui Bunta, Kirihara Akaya and Niou Masaharu won't lose!

"Sakuno dear, can you come with me and help me take notes on these clipboards while I interview some non-regulars?" said Hanamura-sensei.

"Hai!"

The bored trio's interests all perked up at the same time upon hearing a high-pitched feminine voice speak up. In perfect albeit unrehearsed synchronization, their heads turned to see two amazingly long brown braids bob up and down—they were hanging on the back of a small girl who probably was no older than twelve, walking with the Jyosei Shonan coach to the group of practicing non-regulars in the middle of the wide court C.

They stared, eyes like saucers permanently glued to their sockets.

"Well then, we'll be off to follow Hanamura-sensei," said Sakaki, bowing to them as well and walking in the two females' wake.

"Saa, don't be troubled at all, boys," Ryuzaki-sensei grinned in a normal Sumire fashion, waving a hand. "We'll be doing pure observations and try our best not to interfere. And I'll be watching over Sakuno in case something happens to her before trouble comes. Sore ja."

She walked away with a light chuckle.

Renji chose to watch his three teammates stare off at a distance with mouths slightly agape, and can't help but chuckle at the scene.

"Hey, Renji, what's up?" Jackal asked the Rikkai Data man, weird-ed out at hearing a laugh from the usually unreadable regular when there is nothing at all to laugh at… or so he thought.

Renji gave him a mysterious-looking smile that told Jackal he must freak out... in a way.

Jackal chose not to comment on this further.

"Haru," Hiroshi clamped a hand on his doubles partner's shoulder. "Something wrong?"

Niou snapped out of his momentary trance and replied, "Ah, no, nothing's wrong."

Jackal nudged the motionless cake lover, making Bunta jump slightly. "Ah… ehe… right."

Yukimura and Sanada exchanged looks. If what they were thinking was correct, then trouble will surely ensue.

Not if they can help it!

"Renji," Genichirou called out to the third of the three Rikkai prodigies. "Make sure nothing troublesome happens, if running a hundred laps around the courts does not sound appealing to all of you." He cast a sharp glance on Niou, Marui and Akaya. The two seniors gulped nervously at their fukubuchou, while Akaya was still looking far, far away.

"Well then, why don't we all go about doing our normal business, neh?" The team captain smiled at them, and the regulars, feeling no need to go against their newly returned buchou, obliged and dispersed—with the exception of Renji, Masaharu, Bunta and Akaya. It seems that they wanted to do some bonding or something today.

"So," Renji crossed his arms like the interrogator he currently is and leaned against a post. "Care to tell me what's going on in your minds?"

Masaharu frowned at him. "Nothing."

"As if that frown of yours doesn't mean anything, Masaharu."

"Tch."

"Marui?" Renji turned to the boy who chewed on another stick of pocky at the moment.

"Yeah?"

"Spit it out."

"EH? NO! Why should I spit it out?! IT'S A DISGRACE!!!"

Renji slapped a palm on his own forehead. "No, not the pocky. I mean the words. Spill out what you wish to say."

"Eh? But I don't wish to say anything!"

"Right." Renji said skeptically, ignoring the smug look Niou was giving him. "Akaya?"

"Huh?"

"Well?" Renji's impatience was kicking in. _'Tell me there's nothing and you get to give the school janitor a vacation for one whole week.'_

Akaya shrugged. "They're long."

"Oh?" Renji inwardly wanted to dance hula in his mind. If Akaya meant what he thought he meant, then his postulate really was accurate! Woohoo!

"They're long." Akaya stared at the direction of court C. Then an insane grin spread on his lips. "Kawaii."

Alarmed at his last words, Niou and Marui stared at him in horror. _'No!' _they both thought to themselves.

"Oh? What's long… and cute?" asked Renji, now on the peak of his euphoria as he pulled out his handy-dandy notebook and started scribbling away.

Akaya's expression turned more insane. If he really lost it… then…

GASP!

"Braids."

DEVILISH MODE AKAYA CAME BACK!

Bunta jumped up and pointed an index finger on his kohai's face. "OH NO YOU DON'T!"

"Huh?"

Even Masaharu stood before Devilish Mode Akaya and threatened him. "DON'T. YOU. DARE."

"Hah?"

"AS LONG AS I AM HERE, AKAYA, I CANNOT LET YOU!" bellowed Bunta, almost hysterical at the thought of Akaya doing something _he_ was supposed to do.

Niou whipped out his tennis racquet. "YOU BRAT, DON'T YOU DARE! **I** WILL DO **IT**!!!"

Renji stopped writing on his notebook and stared at the three furious-looking regulars trying to outdo each other with verbal sneers and threats. And by the way, what did Niou mean by 'IT'?

He continued his field work to satisfy his curiosity. In truth, as much as his genius doesn't want to claim it, Renji really didn't have any idea on what they were talking about.

He then heard Bunta gasp loudly and saw him point an accusing finger at the Tennis Team Trickster saying, "NIOU? YOU TOO—? DON'T TELL ME—OH DON'T YOU DARE—!!!"

Niou shot him a challenging look. "AHA! So you want to do it too, huh? Sorry pal, but the braids are _mine_ to pull."

Renji slapped a palm on his own forehead for the second time. So this was it, huh? They're jumping down each others' throats due to extreme possessiveness over a little girl's braids? Oh joy.

But then again, this might turn out to be interesting.

He grinned to himself, scribbling crazily on his handy-dandy notebook.

"THEY'RE MINE."

"THEY'RE MINE!"

"THEY'RE _MINE!_"

Sparks flew, thunder roared, and Renji scribbled happily on his notebook.

"THIS MEANS WAR!" the three shouted, before striking a traditional animé pre-war pose worthy of becoming anyone's desktop wallpaper and darting off in a rat race towards different directions, leaving the third year data man to his one-man merry making.

-  
-  
-

One, two—two hours has passed, and within the previous hours up until now the apprehension that Sakuno had felt ever since she walked inside the C court wouldn't go away. Her natural instincts told her that she was being hunted for; her more vigilant senses told her that she was being spied upon; but most possibly scariest, the voice at the back of her head told her she was being stalked.

Stalked…?

The girl's shoulders tensed just thinking about the possibility. She can't help but feel it was true.

Two hours ago she was just standing quietly at the C court, with her back against the steel mesh of the area and her hands each holding a pen and a clipboard, when she felt something tugging the ends of her long braids. It was only a slight force, a feather light downward pull on her hair, but nonetheless she felt it. No matter how dense and clumsy she can be at times, her perceptions are actually highly reliable and sensitive. It was only when she is with other people that hold more than half of her attention that she switches to her more known side—her clueless and clumsy side, and also the more secure side of her.

Another strange thing had happened when after the first experience, Hanamura-sensei had called her and asked her to tabulate her notes. Which ones Hanamura-sensei has labeled this, Sakuno should place on this; which was that, Sakuno should place on that. She actually enjoyed assisting the Jyosei coach that way, as she sat on the nearest bench while tallying the items, but a rustling sound had her pen suspended right above the paper as she turned her head to see where the noise came from.

It was a bush; she can't help but sweat-drop. And blink. And tremble.

How many times has she seen a scenario like this, both in real life and on TV? Often, a bush would suggest that there was an Eavesdropper and the other was Eavesdropped. Or one the Spy and the other the Spied. Or there was the Predator and the other was a Prey.

Or the Stalker and the Stalked…?

Or worse… the Ghost… and the Haunted?

She gulped.

'_There are no ghosts in a school as prestigious as Rikkai Dai, Sakuno. Yes. There are NO ghosts,' _she thought, even though her body began to shake in anxiety.

And after she finished the task Hanamura-sensei has asked of her with a shaking hand and a trembling bottom lip, when she plopped down on a bench that was located at the other end of the court, a shadow loomed above her, with its owner standing behind. Sakuno blinked and blinked, to make sure that she was not just imagining things, but the shadow would not disappear from her sight. She was about to scream—forget about the shame of people snapping their heads up to raise an eyebrow at you, just as long as the shaking and sweating stops—but thank kami-sama, her grandmother came to her just in time, a bemused expression on her face.

Sumire was quite surprised when Sakuno threw herself at her elder, all fear forgone—just sniffing, poor girl—but her obaa-san, chuckling, chose to ruffle her hair and comment on how her adorable granddaughter can't stay put on her own.

Back to the present, Sakuno was strolling towards the nearest vending machine, slowly and thoughtfully.

And then she heard it. A sound.

The rustling of leaves.

She cautiously turned to her right, where bushes were rooted to the ground innocently in front of her.

But there was more… not only were there rustling sounds caused by the shaking bushes, but there were voices as well.

"_Aw-hey-senpa—!"_

"_Shh..!!"_

Sakuno stared, frowning at the thought of actual stalkers who practically sucked in disguising their presence.

'_Well, at least I KNOW some people actually ARE stalking me.' _Sakuno thought with a sigh.

Now convinced that no ghost was tailing her, she approached the bushes with clenched fists and a determined face—

"YEEEEEEAAAAWWWCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"A-Ah!"

—only to land on her bottom, startled, when a figure suddenly sprang to its feet with an unholy earth-shattering shriek.

"Akaya! You gave us away!" A figure stood up out of the bushes as well.

"Mou… baka! Baka Akaya!" Another followed suit.

"But senpai, it hurts—!"

The third who spoke up paused mid-sentence and his eyes sat on where the owners of two other pairs of eyes were staring at.

Still on the ground with her bottom sore, Sakuno looked up to see Niou Masaharu, Kirihara Akaya and Marui Bunta look back at her with wide eyes.

They stared.

…

"GSDFWIUDKJRIFOAJOFQFWBFSVPIHQABEIQGBPRIEUVNGPQBPIGBPIVBPQUBFIQBGBQNWKJBNF!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Sakuno can only stare questioningly at their incoherent bellowing.

-  
-  
-

Her eyes were big and brown. Her face was childish and pale. Her build was small and fragile. She looked at them from below with wide innocent eyes that seemed to ask "Why are Rikkai-san there?" And her braids… they swayed with the wind that passed by, as if on cue, with the three of them frozen on their respective spots, eyes glued to the little girl who stared back at them.

Blood rushed upward in each of their bodies, and before they turn into a color that they certainly had not been born with, they started to yell incoherent words and wildly flap their arms like birds in panic. Yes, panic.

"GSDFWIUDKJRIFOAJOFQFWBFSVPIHQABEIQGBPRIEUVNGPQBPIGBPIVBPQUBFIQBGBQNWKJBNF!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

She stared at them in wonder, her head tilting to the side in a child-like manner—something that made the blood in them rush upward even quicker.

"A-Anou…"

"—Gyah! Ah, uhm, er, R-Ryuzaki-sensei's granddaughter, r-r-right? Ehehehe…!" One of them who Sakuno recognized as Kirihara Akaya exclaimed rather nervously. "Yo! We were j-just… uh… getting some lost tennis balls… yeah, we were! Ehehe…!"

The girl sweatdropped. She isn't that stupid to buy such a stupid excuse… but since the three boys are obviously not all right, she'll just have to be kind to them. "H-Hai… Anou… Kirihara-san…?"

Apparently, Sakuno saying his surname had Akaya yelling even more nervously (and wildly).

Sakuno didn't know how to calm them. What happened to these three, really? Kirihara-san said they were just picking up stray tennis balls, but was a little deed that much of a big thing to make them flap their arms around and _blush_ as madly as _that? _"Uhm… Niou-san and… Marui-san, right?"

Thankfully, the three of them stopped panicking, but were now as still and stiff as statues with adorable red shades on their faces.

"Hai!" Marui Bunta bellowed like how one would respond to his commander. "Uhm…" he held out a hand. His head was bashfully turned away as Sakuno stared at the gesture questioningly. Did Marui-san want to shake hands? The thought surprised Sakuno, since they weren't familiar with each other at all…

It took a few more seconds for Sakuno to finally realize _and_ remember that she was still sitting on the ground and that her butt was sore.

'_Oh. So that's it.'_

She took the cake lover's hand and stood up, dusting her skirt and mentally scolding her stupidity all the while.

"Thank you… and… eto… are Rikkai-san okay?" she can't help but worry at how red their faces currently were. Did they catch a fever together…? If so, then this is bad! They may not be able to participate in the Nationals and her senpai-tachi might be disappointed if Rikkai—

"Ehe, yeah, we're okay. Don't worry." The boy who Sakuno remembered as Niou Masaharu replied. He seemed to have gained his composure as well as the other two regulars now. Though relieved, Sakuno inwardly called herself stupid (again) for thinking about them missing the Nationals just because of some fever…

She smiled and solemnly bowed. "Eto… I'm Ryuzaki Sakuno. Nice to meet you…"

Upon looking back at them, she blinked at their expressions. Niou-san had a face that silently told her he discovered something sinfully cute, Marui-san seemed to look at her as if she was one of his precious cakes, and Kirihara-san looked like he was ready to glomp her with a bear hug any time. Though different, they still seem to be giving her the same look—the look of a father who is fond of his daughter, or an elder brother who is fond of his younger sister, complete with flowers and bubbles for the background (which is so un-shounen-like, mind you).

She paled, then blushed, as they began introducing themselves, despite her already knowing who they are.

And on her way back to the tennis courts, instead of the usual silence to accompany her, she found herself walking along three tall boys who all effortlessly pushed that silence away just to get to know the adorable girl named Sakuno better. The comfortable way they talked to her seemed as if they hadn't just met each other that day.

She can't help but smile a little; at first, Tomo-chan and senpai-tachi were the only ones who are able to let her escape from this lonely silence and cheer her up. But now there proved to be other people who can do so besides them, like An-chan of Fudomine, and even Yuuta-san and his friends—it only means something as simple as the beginning of progress in her social life.

"Whoa, Saku-chan is smiling! Kawaii!"

"Marui-san…"

"Oi, Marui, you're making our new friend blush here…"

"Which makes her look cuter! Waaaaaaah!"

"Marui-senpai! Mou, you're quite hyper today! Just excuse him, Saku-chan… anyway, what are your hobbies?"

"Anou… I'm good at a few things, like cooking and baking…"

"Do you know how to bake cakes, Saku-chan? Can you bake me one sometime?"

"Eto… sure…"

"Yay! You're really kind, Saku—"

"ANYWAY, Sakuno-chan, you said you have seen our match with Seigaku, right? What do you think about my move against—"

"Is that what you care about, Niou-senpai?! Saku-chan! What about your favorite—"

"SAKU-CHAN! I love strawberries on chocolate cake, will that be okay?"

Well, this level of loquaciousness is nowhere at Tomo-chan's level, so Sakuno is quite sure she'll survive.

-  
-  
-

"This proctoring activity had been productive, Yukimura-kun. Thank you for your tennis club's cooperation. We greatly appreciate it."

"It was no problem, Hanamura-sensei. We also feel privileged to be the first among the many schools in your list." Yukimura smiled at the three coaches who stood in front of them. The gates of the university stood tall right behind them. After three whole hours of tennis practice, the boys' tennis club members have all gone home, with the exception of the regular players… three of whom looking currently optimistic as opposed to the bored faces they wore earlier that afternoon.

Yukimura and Sanada exchanged looks of wonder, before their eyes fell on the little girl who stood beside her grandmother.

Sakuno noticed this and timidly returned eye contact, only to earn a smile from the buchou and a cough from the fukubuchou.

"Thank you. Well then, a pleasant evening to all of you. I have business to attend to at Hyotei." With an upward swipe of his hand to indicate his leave, Sakaki-sensei got in his private limousine (Sakuno felt her hand twitch at the fancy antics that all constituents of Hyotei seem to posses) and took off.

Ryuzaki Sumire chuckled at the looks on everyone's faces. "Well, I think that's all. Thanks again boys. Sakuno, let's go."

"Hai! And… uhm… eto…"

Marui winked at her, and she blushed. Sakuno hurriedly bowed at the Rikkai regulars with all the respect she can muster and followed her grandmother and Hanamura-sensei out of the campus… but before she could, Kirihara called out to her.

"Wait, Saku-chan!"

"Eh?" Sakuno turned back to see Kirihara running towards her, with his hand extending, gripping the ends of one her braids and, to her misfortune…

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH…!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

…well, you get what I mean.

Sakuno, regaining her senses, stopped screaming to make sure her grandmother doesn't send anyone to the hospital again, and blinked absent-mindedly. Embarrassed at her own behavior, she hastily bowed again, blushing, and dashed away.

"AKAYA! Why'd you do that, you idiot!" Niou bonked his kohai on the head.

"I WAS SUPPOSED TO PULL THEM! She looked so unbelievably cute that I wanted to pull them like the ears of a bunny to make sure she's human, baka!" Marui wailed, more to himself than to Kirihara.

Niou hit him in the head as well. "How come you get to say it? That was _my_ line!"

"Mou… but in the end, I, Kirihara Akaya, won in the tug-a-braid war against senpai-tachi! Nyahaha!!!"

"Akaya, shut up, will you?"

In the background, Yukimura sighed and turned to Yanagi. "So _this_ is what it's all about?"

"Yes. It seems that the presence of a _cute_ girl was enough to make them go craz—I mean, OOC."

Jackal chuckled. "Out of character? Seriously?"

"Seriously."

Yagyuu adjusted his classes. "Quite understandable, since they don't really know many girls in school."

"Can you relate, Sanada?" asked an amused Yanagi.

There was no answer.

Yukimura chuckled happily.

-  
-  
-

The next day, a small parcel was delivered to the Rikkai Dai boys' tennis club room at lunch break. Unfortunately, it was the trickster of the team Niou Masaharu who found it sitting innocently on one of the benches. As he picked it up carefully, he saw a small piece of paper with a handwritten message that said:

_Marui-san, Kirihara-san, Niou-san—_

_I'm sorry for making a racket yesterday, screaming needlessly like that. Please accept this cake as an apology._

—_Ryuzaki Sakuno_

_PS. The next time Kirihara-san pulls my braids, I will be ready!_

He chuckled quietly, amused at Sakuno's cute way of expressing her apology. _'The next time, it may not be Akaya who gets to do that, Sakuno-chan.'_

Then at that precise moment, before he could open the box, the one and only Marui Bunta just so happened to walk in the room.

"Ara? What's that you got there, Niou?"

With an inconspicuous fleeting spark of evil in his eyes, the trickster looked at him coolly and shrugged.

"Nah, just a box full of fan letters."

**TBC**

* * *

**A/N:** And the rest is for your imagination to imagine! Ooookkkaaayyy. This was kind of hurriedly written. AND it's considerably shorter than the previous chapter(s). Anyway, I hope you liked it. Random ideas popped into my head which resulted to random writing… and randomness is what this fic may be all about XD So, next chapter: **Hyotei** has something planned! And what does Sakuno have to do with it?! 

**-Meowzie**  
10.13.07


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